WILDLIFE BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION, WILDLIFE REPORT, AND MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES ASSESSMENT

for the

ANGELUS OAKS UNDERSTORY BURN PROJECT

San Bernardino National Forest

Prepared By: Jeffrey L. Lincer______Date:_15 August 2011______Jeffrey L. Lincer, PhD, Consulting Wildlife Biologist

Prepared by: _ Kim Boss______Date: 15 August 2011______Kim Boss, Wildlife Biologist

Input and Reviewed by: Kathie Meyer .Date: 16 August 2011____ Kathie Meyer, District Wildlife Biologist

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Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

SUMMARY This report addresses the potential effects of the proposed project on Federally Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, and Candidate (TEPC) wildlife species, Forest Service Sensitive (S) wildlife species, and wildlife Management Indicator Species (MIS) as well as general wildlife that are known or likely to occur in the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project Area (i.e., area considered for this analysis, including downstream). The project is located on the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) surrounding the community of Angelus Oaks, in San Bernardino County, California. The proposed treatments are designed to maintain the effectiveness of the fuel reduction treatments developed during the Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project of 2004 and to protect Angelus Oaks and the surrounding areas from wildfire. Proposed treatments would be accomplished through a combination of manual and prescribed fire (pile and broadcast burning with hand-firing methods) treatments to maintain and remove understory hazardous fuels. Non-native Spanish broom will also be removed using mechanical removal and cut-and-daub application method of glyphosate herbicide. Design Criteria are proposed as needed, to minimize impacts to wildlife and other resources. The total project footprint consists of approximately 570 acres. Three federally listed species are addressed in this document: southwestern willow flycatcher, mountain yellow-legged frog, and Santa Ana sucker. Due to Design Criteria that have been incorporated into the project design, and as supported by the Project Soils and Hydrology Report, project-related impacts are anticipated to be both insignificant and extremely unlikely for mountain yellow-legged frog. No impacts to southwestern willow flycatcher or Santa Ana suckers are expected. No impacts to designated Critical Habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher or Santa Ana sucker are expected as a result of this project. Seventeen Region 5 Sensitive wildlife species are known or expected to occur in the Project Area, for which our determination is no effect or may affect individuals but not likely to lead to a trend to federal listing for Sensitive species. Four wildlife MIS are expected to occur in the Project Area (California spotted owl, mountain lion, song sparrow, and mule deer). This project is not expected to affect the province-wide trend for any of the MIS. Table S-1 displays the known and potential occurrences of special status animals in the Project Area and summarizes the “Determinations of Effects” for each. The known and potential occurrences of wildlife MIS are provided in Table 5 in this report. Table S-1. Summary of Effects Determinations for Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species (TES) in the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project Area Occurrence in COMMON NAME LATIN NAME Project Area* Determinations** mountain yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa P NLAA southwestern willow flycatcher Empidonax trailii extimus CH;Y N Santa Ana sucker Catostomus santannae CH ; N N

i Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project large-blotched ensatina Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi P MAI yellow-blotched ensatina Ensatina eschscholtzii P MAI croceater California legless lizard Aniella pulchra P MAI San Diego horned lizard Phrynosoma coronatum Y MAI blainvillii southern rubber boa Charina bottae umbratica Y MAI coastal rosy boa Lichanura trivirgata rosafusca P MAI San Bernardino ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus modestus Y MAI San Bernardino mountain Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra Y MAI kingsnake Two-striped garter snake Thamnophis hammondii P MAI California spotted owl Strix occidentalis occidentalis Y MAI American peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus anatum P MAI Willow flycatcher (migrant) Empidonax traillii P N Townsend’s big-eared bat Corynorhinus townsendii P MAI pallid bat Antrozous pallidus P MAI western red bat Lasiurus blossevillii P MAI San Bernardino white-eared Perognathus alticolus alticolus P MAI pocket mouse San Bernardino flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus Y MAI californicus *Occurrence Information: P = Occurrence of the species is possible; suitable habitat exists. Y = Species is known to occur.

**Determination Codes: NLAA = not likely to adversely affect for T/E species MAI = may affect individuals but not likely to lead to a trend to federal listing for Sensitive species N = no effect

ii Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

CONTENTS

PART I: INTRODUCTION ------7

I-1.0 METHODS ------9

I-2.0 CURRENT MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ------9

I-3.0 DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ------10 I-3.1 Proposed Action ------11 I-3.2 No Action Alternative ------27

I-4.0 MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING RECOMMENDATIONS ------28

PART II: WILDLIFE REPORT ------29

II-1.0 INTRODUCTION ------29

II-2.0 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT – GENERAL ------29 II-2.1 Existing Environment – Vegetation Descriptions ------29 II-2.1.1 Mixed Conifer Forest ------30 II-2.1.2 Montane Chaparral ------31 II-2.1.3 Mixed Hardwood/Conifer Forest ------32 II-2.2 Existing Environment – Roads and Trails ------32 II-2.3 Existing Environment – Wildlife ------33 II-2.3.1 Fish ------33 II-2.3.2 Amphibians ------33 II-2.3.3 Reptiles ------33 II-2.3.4 Birds ------34 II-2.3.5 Mammals ------34

II-3.0 EFFECTS OF PROPOSED ACTION – GENERAL ------35 II-3.1 Levels of Impact Analyses ------35 II-3.1.1 Direct Impacts: ------35 II-3.1.2 Indirect Impacts: ------35 II-3.1.3 Cumulative Effects: ------35 II-3.2 Impacts of Proposed Action – Forest Stand Conditions ------37 II-3.3 Impacts of Proposed Action – Fire Hazard and Fire Behavior ------37 II-3.4 Impacts of Proposed Action – Wildlife------38 II-3.4.1 Spread or Establishment of Non-native Invasive Species ------38 II-3.4.2 Changes in Microclimates ------39 II-3.4.3 Potential Impacts to Vegetation Used as Wildlife Habitat ------39 II-3.4.4 Potential General Impacts to Wildlife Habitat ------40 II-3.4.5 Potential Impacts to Aquatic and Riparian Species and Habitats ------41 II-3.4.6 Temporary Noise Disturbance/Displacement/Abandonment ------48 II-3.4.7 Death and Injury of Individuals ------49 II-3.4.8 General Impacts to Breeding Animals ------49 II-3.4.9 Potential Impacts to Snag-Dependent Species – Wildlife ------50 II-3.4.10 Potential Impacts to Log-dependent, Fossorial, and Small Terrestrial Animals ------51 II-3.4.11 Potential Impacts from Glyphosate Application ------52

iii Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

II-3.4.12 Post-implementation Habitat Impacts and Disturbance – Wildlife ------54 II-3.5 Impacts of No Action ------54 II-3.5.1 Forest Stand Conditions – No Action------54 II-3.5.2 Fire Behavior – No Action ------55 II-3.5.3 General Vegetation Effects – No Action ------55 II-3.5.4 Common Wildlife and Special-Status Wildlife Species – No Action ------55

II-4.0 COMPLIANCE WITH MIGRATORY BIRD 2008 MOU ------55

PART III: BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF IMPACTS TO FOREST SERVICE SENSITIVE WILDLIFE SPECIES ------58

III-1.0 SENSITIVE SPECIES BASELINE CONDITIONS AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS------58 III-1.1 Sensitive Animals – Baseline Conditions and Potential Impacts of Proposed Action ------58 III-1.1.1 California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis)------62 III-1.1.2 American Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) ------81 III-1.1.3 Willow Flycatcher (Migrant) (Empidonax traillii) ------82 III-1.1.4 Large-blotched ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi) Yellow-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii croceater) California Legless Lizard (Aniella pulchra) ------83 III-1.1.5 San Diego Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillii) ------86 III-1.1.6 Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata rosafusca), San Bernardino Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus modestus), San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra, and Southern Rubber Boa (Charina bottae umbratica) ------88 III-1.1.7 Two-striped Garter Snake (Thamnophis hammondii) ------92 III-1.1.8 Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Plecotus townsendii) ------94 III-1.1.9 Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) ------97 III-1.1.10 Western Red Bat (Lasiurus blossevillii) ------98 III-1.1.11 San Bernardino White-eared Pocket Mouse (Perognathus alticolus alticolus) ------102 III-1.1.12 San Bernardino Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus californicus) ------104 III-1.2 Sensitive Animals – Impacts of No Action ------109

III-2.0 DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS ------109

PART IV: BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS TO THREATENED, ENDANGERED, PROPOSED, AND CANDIDATE SPECIES ------110

IV-1.0 INTRODUCTION ------110

IV-2.0 CONSULTATIONS AND CONFERENCES TO DATE ------110

IV-3.0 BASELINE CONDITIONS AND POTENTIAL EFFECTS FOR T/E SPECIES ------111 IV-3.1 Baseline Conditions for T/E Wildlife and Potential Effects – Proposed Action ------114 IV-3.1.1 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (SWWF) (Empidonax traillii extimus) ------114 IV-3.1.2 Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (MYLF) (Rana muscosa) ------118 IV-3.1.2 Santa Ana Sucker ------125 IV-3.2 Threatened and Endangered Wildlife - Potential Effects of No Action ------127

IV-4.0 DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS FOR T/E SPECIES ------128

PART V: PROJECT-LEVEL ASSESSMENT TO WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES------129

V-1.0 INTRODUCTION ------129

iv Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

V-2.0 WILDLIFE MIS SELECTED FOR PROJECT ANALYSIS ------129

V-3.0 MIS ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS ------131 V-3.1 Mule Deer ------131 V-3.1.1 Environmental Baseline for Mule Deer ------133 V-3.1.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – Mule Deer ------135 V-3.1.3 Potential Impacts of Proposed Action – Mule Deer ------136 V-3.1.4 Cumulative Effects for Mule Deer ------137 V-3.1.5 Summary – Mule Deer ------138 V-3.2 Mountain Lion ------138 V-3.2.1 Environmental Baseline for Mountain Lion ------139 V-3.2.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – Mountain Lion ------140 V-3.2.3 Potential Impacts of Proposed Action – Mountain Lion ------141 V-3.2.4 Cumulative Effects - Mountain Lion------141 V-3.2.5 Summary - Mountain Lion ------142 V-3.3 Song Sparrow ------142 V-3.3.1 Environmental Baseline for Song Sparrow ------143 V-3.3.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – Song Sparrow ------144 V-3.3.3 Potential Impacts of Proposed Action – Song Sparrow ------144 V-3.3.4 Cumulative Effects – Song Sparrow ------145 V-3.3.5 Summary – Song Sparrow ------145 V-3.4 California Spotted Owl ------145 V-3.4.1 Environmental Baseline for California Spotted Owl ------146 V-3.4.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – California Spotted Owl ------146 V-3.4.3 Potential Impacts for Proposed action – California Spotted Owl ------146 V-3.4.4 Cumulative Effects -- California Spotted Owls ------147 V-3.4.5 Summary for California Spotted Owls ------147

V-4.0 SUMMARY FOR MIS ------147

LITERATURE CITED ------148

APPENDIX A: MANAGEMENT DIRECTION AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS ------1

APPENDIX B: SPECIES HABITAT MAPS ------1

Map B-1. California Spotted Owl Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area ------2

Map B-2. Suitable Southern Rubber Boa Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area ------3

Map B-3. Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Modeled Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area ------4

Map B-4. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Modeled Habitat and Limited Operating Period in the Angelus Oaks Project Area ------5

Map B-5. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Designated Critical Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area ------6

Map B-6. Soils and Hydrology Modeling Reference Map ------7

Map B-7. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Mapped Occupied and Suitable Habitat in the Cold Creek Watershed ------8

v Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

APPENDIX C: BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES* ------1

APPENDIX D. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELEVANT DESIGN CRITERIA FROM THE 2009 SPANISH BROOM PROJECT ------1

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Current and Reasonably Forseeable Activities on the SBNF ...... 36 Table 2. Probability of Changes in Stream Morphology/Biology Resulting from Project- related Impacts in the Cold Creek Watershed ...... 46 Table 3. Probability of Changes in Stream Morphology/Biology Resulting from Project- related Impacts in the Mountain Home Creek Watershed ...... 47 Table 4. San Bernardino National Forest Sensitive Animal Species ...... 60 Table 5. Summary of Treatments Proposed for Spotted Owl Territories with Habitat in the Project Area ...... 73 Table 6. Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, and Candidate Wildlife Species in the Angelus Oaks Project Area ...... 113 Table 7. Management Indicator Species Selection and Monitoring Information ...... 130 Table 8. Mule Deer Population Trend for DAUs Covering the SBNF ...... 133 Table 9. Mule Deer 2004 Population Estimates ...... 133 Table 10. Deer Kill Records for Zone D-14 ...... 134

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Angelus Oaks Project Area ...... 13 Figure 2. Angelus Oaks 6th-level Watersheds ...... 42 Figure 3. RCAs within the Angelus Oaks Project Area ...... 43 Figure 4. Proposed Spanish Broom Treatment Areas ...... 53 Figure 5. Number of California Spotted Owl Active Territories (Occupied by Pairs) Over Time in the San Bernardino Mountains ...... 69 Figure 6. Total Deer Kill for Zone D-14 ...... 135

vi Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

PART I: INTRODUCTION

Document Structure This document has five parts: • Part 1 is an introduction with the project history, purpose of the document, project description, methods, management direction, and description of the Project Area. • Part 2 is a Wildlife Report that discusses general impacts to animals in the Project Area. • Part 3 is a Biological Evaluation (BE) of impacts to wildlife species that are on the Regional Forester’s Sensitive (S) species list. • Part 4 is a Biological Assessment (BA) of impacts to federally listed threatened (T), endangered (E), proposed (P), and candidate (C) animal species in the Project Area. • Part 5 addresses wildlife Management Indicator Species (MIS) that were designated in the 2005 Forest Plan. These reports are required for all Forest Service funded, executed, authorized, or permitted programs and activities. Project History A BA/BE is required for all Forest Service (FS) funded, executed, authorized, or permitted programs and activities. The botany BA/BE, botany report, and weeds risk assessment will be completed separately by the District Botanist. The analysis of plant MIS will be completed separately by the District Botanist. The Decision Memo for the Angelus Oaks Community Protection Project was signed in 2004 (San Bernardino National Forest, Front Country Ranger District, 2004 Decision Memo). A Biological Assessment/Biological Evaluation and Wildlife Report that supported this Decision Memo was also signed on May 20, 2004. Both of these documents are available for review in the Front Country NEPA Library at the Lytle Creek Office. They will be referenced throughout this document. The 2004 Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project removed dead trees, smaller understory trees, and shrubs, which reduced hazardous fuels and greatly decreased the ignition probability and fire intensity within the Defense and Threat Zones (defined in the next section) around the community. Live trees were pruned up to 6 feet and thinned to approximately 20 feet crown spacing, resulting in approximately 109 trees per acre, depending on the treatment zone and stand conditions. Shrub cover was reduced to approximately 20 to 40 percent ground cover resulting in vegetation islands of various shapes and sizes. During thinning, tree species were retained in the following descending order of preference: big-cone Douglas fir, black oak, sugar pine, Jeffery/ponderosa pine, Coulter pine, incense cedar, and white fir. Tree retention favored more fire-resistant tree species such as pines, big-cone Douglas fir, and black

Part I 7 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project oak, as opposed to white fir and incense cedar. Most of the vegetation was removed from the area, chipped, and/or stacked in piles, and burned. Mechanical treatment by mastication also occurred in some units. There are still approximately 97 acres planned for prescribed burn as part of the community defense project on National Forest Lands that have yet to be implemented. Since these treatments were completed, some shrubs have regrown, and fuels have accumulated. The treatments approved in the 2004 Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project were designed with input from the Angelus Oaks Fire Safe Council. The Angelus Oaks Fire Safe Council is active and will remain active in promoting treatments on private land within the community. Currently the forested stands are open, with widely spaced trees. The ground cover is dominated by herbaceous species. Stocking is currently estimated at 109 trees per acre. Ladder fuels have been reduced through pruning and elimination of smaller-sized brush and trees under canopies of larger trees. There are still piles remaining on site from these treatment activities. Post-treatment resprouting of the understory vegetation is occurring and will increasingly degrade the effectiveness of the fuelbreaks around the community of Angelus Oaks. Much of the treated understory oak species have now regrown, with numerous ground sprouts currently 6 to 8 feet in height. The proposed project vegetation is a mixture of conifer forests, oak woodlands, and shrub areas. Conifer species include Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, white fir, incense cedar, sugar pine, big-cone Douglas fir and Coulter pine. Hardwood species include black oak, canyon live oak, and scrub oak, and alder and willow in the more moist or riparian areas. Purpose of this Document The purpose of this document is to review a Proposed Action and determine what the effects will be to Federally listed wildlife species and wildlife species listed as Sensitive by Forest Service Region 5 (Forest Service Manual 2670.31-32). Furthermore, it includes an analysis of the project effects on San Bernardino National Forest wildlife MIS. This document is prepared in accordance with legal requirements set forth under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and follows standards established in Forest Service Manual (FSM) direction (2672.42) and the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 5402). Since 2003 there have been numerous changes in conditions and management direction. The San Bernardino National Forest completed a new Land Management Plan (LMP; USDA Forest Service 2005a). The LMP contains management direction for all aspects of managing the National Forest and includes direction on impact analysis for Management Indicator Species. The 2005 LMP also contains new wildlife species accounts. The California Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy provides direction for management of spotted owl habitat on the four southern California National Forests. In October 2005, Critical Habitat was designated in Mill Creek and Santa Ana River (both downstream of the project footprint) for the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher.

Part I 8 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Critical Habitat was designated in Mill Creek (downstream of the project footprint) in 2011 for the federally threatened Santa Ana sucker.

I-1.0 METHODS

Species Considered and Species Accounts Each section contains the current list of special status species being considered during the surveys and in the analysis of potential effects. Only those species with known occurrences or considered to have a high likelihood of occurrence within the Project Area are discussed in depth in this analysis. The detailed species accounts developed for the Forest Plan revision process can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/read.htm. Refer to this website for further information. Pre-field Reviews Pre-field reviews were conducted to determine which threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate, and Sensitive (TEPCS) and MIS wildlife species are known to occur in the Project Area or have suitable habitat present and potentially occur. Data regarding biological resources in the Project Area were obtained through literature review, existing reports, and field investigation reports. Sensitive biological resources present or potentially present were identified through a literature review using the following sources: California Department of Fish and Game’s (CDFG) California Natural Diversity Data Base (CNDDB) and United States Forest Service records. Consultations with other sources (e.g., other literature pertinent to the Project Area and local experts) are described below where appropriate. Assumptions of presence were also made when suitable habitat existed in Project Area. Wildlife Methods and Surveys Some field surveys have been done in anticipation of this work, including surveys in Mountain Home Creek, Cold Creek, and the western tributary of Cold Creek. There are on-going stream surveys by FS biologists, surveys for the mountain yellow-legged frog by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the City Creek Watershed, and continued 2011 surveys of the California spotted owl. Expected wildlife usage of the site was determined according to known habitat preferences of regional wildlife species, knowledge of their relative distributions in the area, and historical occurrences. Scientific nomenclature and common names for vertebrate species referred to in this report follow those used in the LMP with the exception of arroyo toad, which is now in the genus Anaxyrus.

I-2.0 CURRENT MANAGEMENT DIRECTION

Applicable requirements and direction may be found in the SBNF LMP, Endangered Species Act, National Forest Management Act, Department of Agriculture 9500-4 Regulations, Forest Service Manual, and the Southern California Conservation

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Strategy. Appendix A contains details of jurisdictions, legal requirements, and management direction that are applicable to this project. Land Use Zones and/or Special Area Designations There are no Land Use Zones (e.g. Critical Biological) or Special Area Designations (e.g. Research Natural Areas, Special Interest Areas, eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers, established or recommended wilderness, or Inventoried Roadless Areas) from the Forest Plan that relate to the biological resources in the Project Area. LMP Direction The LMP includes forest goals and desired conditions for resources, strategic management direction and guidance for designing actions and activities (Design Criteria) during project planning. The Project Area lies within the San Bernardino Front Country Place as described in the LMP (Part 2, pp. 79–83) and a small part of the San Gorgonio Place (Part II, pp. 84–88). Specific desired conditions included in the San Bernardino Front County and the San Gorgonio Places is that the habitat conditions for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species are improving over time. Maintaining a healthy aquatic ecosystem capable of supporting native fish and wildlife populations and a quality rainbow trout fishing is another identified condition for the San Bernardino Front Country Place. When planning projects or managing ongoing activities in areas that contain habitat for special status species (including threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate and Sensitive species, and other species identified by biologist as being in danger of population decline or habitat loss), the information found in various types of species guidance documents to develop project-specific design criteria will be used (LMP Part 3 Appendix H). These include: Species Conservation Strategies, prepared by or for USDA Forest Service (e.g., California spotted owl and mountain yellow-legged frog); habitat management guides, plans, and strategies prepared by or for USDA Forest Service (e.g., southern rubber boa, San Bernardino National Forest); and species accounts prepared for the LMP revision 2005 for any relevant taxa. Compliance with Management Direction and Regulations The Proposed Action complies with the Endangered Species Act, National Forest Management Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Part II-4.0 further describes regulatory direction and compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It also complies with direction/guidance from applicable Biological Opinions, and the Southern California Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy. See the tables in Appendix A for more details, including the LMP standards applicable for fish, wildlife, and plants and how each standard was met for this project.

I-3.0 DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES

Note that within this document “Project Area” refers to all areas within the project boundaries (or footprint), directly adjacent habitats that have the potential to be affected

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by the project, and habitats that are located downstream of the project boundaries that have the potential to be affected by the proposed project. Location The total project footprint encompasses approximately 534 acres of National Forest System lands surrounding the community of Angelus Oaks and is located in the Front Country Ranger District in T1N, R1W, sections 21, 22, 27, 28, and 33, along Highway 38 in San Bernardino County, California (Figure 1).

I-3.1 Proposed Action The San Bernardino National Forest, Front Country Ranger District, proposes, under the authorization of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003, to reduce the fire risk and improve forest health surrounding the community of Angelus Oaks, California. The Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project will be analyzed as an Environmental Assessment (EA) to maintain the effectiveness of the fuel reduction treatments developed during the implementation of the Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project of 2004. The Mill Creek Fireshed Assessment and Angelus Oaks Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) of 2005 identify the project site as an area for hazardous fuel reduction treatments that will protect Angelus Oaks and the surrounding areas. The community of Angelus Oaks is also in the process of being identified as a community at high risk of damage from wildfire by the California Fire Alliance, which encourages the development of CWPPs as defined by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. The fuel modification strategy for the community of Angelus Oaks has been addressed across all ownerships in order to break up fuel continuity and create defensible zones. The treatments approved in the 2004 Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project were designed with input from the Angelus Oaks Fire Safe Council. The treatment activities designed on private land were completed, and maintenance of the fuels levels in the Community Defense Project is expected to continue. The Angelus Oaks Fire Safe Council is active and will remain active in promoting treatments on private land within the community. The project objectives are to reduce vegetative regrowth and the natural accumulation of woody materials on the ground through the use of prescribed fire, hand treatments, and control of non-native Spanish broom (Spartium junceum L.). This will maintain the effectiveness of the Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project. Project Description The Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project is located in an area classified as Wildland- Urban-Interface (WUI) by the San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan and as described by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. Under the National Fire Plan and the Healthy Forests Initiative, emphasis is placed on reducing the risk of wildfire within the WUI around communities at risk. Residents within adjacent communities are concerned for their safety and about private property loss from a possible wildland fire that may spread from the surrounding public land. In addition, there is concern about

Part I 11 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project fires igniting on private lands and spreading onto adjacent National Forest System lands with resulting damage to forest resources. The purpose of this project is to: • Eliminate hazardous fuels, and • Improve the overall forest health of the treated areas.

Part I 12 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Figure 1. Angelus Oaks Project Area

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These proposed maintenance activities will reduce the risk of wildfire within the community of Angelus Oaks and maintain the desired future condition of the 2004 Angelus Oaks Community Protection Project. Treatments will be located where the topography, wind conditions, and fuels create the potential for fire spread into the community, or where a large or intense fire could cause indirect damage to the community (e.g., effects to water sources, erosion hazards, etc.). Management of the Project Area is directed by the San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan, a three-part document (vision, strategy, and design criteria) also referred to as the “LMP” (USDA Forest Service 2005a). Project Objectives The Project Area lies within the San Bernardino Front Country Place and a small portion of the San Gorgonio Place as described in the LMP (Part 2, pp. 79–88). The emphasis for the San Bernardino Front Country Place is that the chaparral and forested areas are managed to provide fire protection for adjacent urban communities, recreation areas, and wildlife habitat. Community protection from wildland fire is of the highest priority. Strategies also stress the need for direct community protection and a system of roadside fuelbreaks, as well as fuelbreaks along watershed boundaries, to minimize fire size and threats to communities by both fires and floods. The Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project will be designed with the following objectives in support of the goals outlined in the Forest Land Management Plan. Support an effective fire suppression strategy to: • Protect communities and private property. • Increase firefighter safety during fire suppression activities. • Protect areas with historically lower-than-normal fire frequencies (i.e., areas characterized by negative fire-regime condition classes). • Protect areas of mature vegetation with a positive fire-regime condition class. Maintain the fuelbreak and shaded fuelbreak system to: • Minimize wildfire spread by reducing the rate of spread, fire line intensity, and flame length within the fuelbreak. • Substantially reduce ladder fuels in the conifer stands. • Maintain a mosaic of multiple-age class fuels within brush and tree stands to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the area. • Provide opportunity for backfire and burn-out operations to create holding line and reduce the need for dozer and hand line construction during wildfires. Maintain forest health by using adaptive management to maintain uneven-age native conifer and hardwood stands to lower the probability of stand replacement events (wildfires, insects, disease, etc.) in order to achieve the following:

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• Reduce competition between trees and brush species by reducing the understory shrub cover. • Maintain spacing of trees to restore forest health and increase wildfire resistance. • Maintain a prescribed burn schedule to maintain effectiveness of fuelbreak over time. • Maintain a stand of large healthy trees that have increased wildfire resistance and increased carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestering. • Prevent or minimize the spread of invasive plant species, including non-native annual grasses. • Control non-native Spanish broom. Existing Condition The proposed Project Area consists primarily of mixed conifers including ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, white fir, incense cedar, Coulter pine, and bigcone Douglas-fir, with components of black and live oaks. The condition prior to the Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project was a forest where the vegetation was dense, ladder fuels were abundant, and unnaturally high accumulations of woody material were present on the forest floor. Drought in the past decade had led to increased mortality of trees and intensified the hazardous fuels throughout the Forest. The 2004 Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project removed dead trees, smaller understory trees, and shrubs, which reduced hazardous fuels and greatly decreased the ignition probability and fire intensity within the Defense and Threat Zones (defined in the next section) around the community. Live trees were pruned up to 6 feet and thinned to approximately 20 feet crown spacing, resulting in approximately 109 trees per acre, depending on the treatment zone and stand conditions. Shrub cover was reduced to approximately 20 to 40 percent ground cover resulting in vegetation islands of various shapes and sizes. During thinning, tree species were retained in the following descending order of preference: bigcone Douglas-fir, black oak, sugar pine, Jeffrey/ponderosa pine, Coulter pine, incense cedar, and white fir. Tree retention favored more fire-resistant tree species such as pines, bigcone Douglas-fir, and black oak, as opposed to white fir and incense cedar. Most of the vegetation was removed from the area, chipped, and/or stacked in piles, and burned. Mechanical treatment by mastication also occurred in some units. Since these treatments were completed some shrubs have regrown and hazardous fuels have accumulated. Proposed Action The Proposed Action is to use prescribed fire and limited hand treatments to maintain the established fuelbreak around the community of Angelus Oaks. This project will maintain an open forest canopy (overstory) with widely spaced crowns (20 feet × 20 feet between crowns), both in conifers and hardwoods. The understory will be composed of

Part I 15 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project scattered shrub islands, small understory trees, and herbaceous plants. Surface and ladder fuels will be reduced to minimize the potential for crowning, torching, and intense fire behavior. In order to break up the vegetative continuity and reduce the risk of high intensity fires, shrubs will be reduced to no more than 20 percent in the Defense Zone and 20 to 40 percent in the Threat Zone. The Proposed Action will maintain a trend toward a Fire Condition Class 1 status on a long-term basis, with re-entry treatment activities on a 5- to 10-year rotation. About 10 to 20 percent of the area will be treated each year. Fire Condition Class 1 is defined as a class where fire regimes are within a historical range (1910–present), and the risk of losing key ecosystem structure and function is low. Vegetation attributes are intact and functioning within a historical range. Proposed Treatments The proposed project will focus on maintaining the Angelus Oaks Community Defense Project of 2004. Proposed treatment activities will consist primarily of prescribed fire to remove understory shrub regrowth, providing a mosaic of fuels, and the removal of the natural accumulation of woody materials on the ground. Prescribed fire treatments will generally use hand-firing methods. The project will maintain the shaded fuelbreak around the Angelus Oaks community, and the overall mixed conifer and chaparral species composition will remain unchanged after treatment activities. The Proposed Action will also provide maintenance activities to reduce ladder and surface fuels in order to reduce both the intensity and severity of potential wildfires. The following treatments will be applied over the 534-acre project: • Utilize a combination of manual and prescribed fire (pile and broadcast burning with hand-firing methods) treatment methods to maintain and remove understory hazardous fuels. • Reduce flame length to 2 feet within the Defense Zone (up to 300 feet from the community boundary), 4 feet or less in the Threat Zone (up to 1.25 miles out from the Defense Zone boundary, within the project boundaries), and limit passive crown fire, with the goal of no active crown fire in conifer and hardwood stands in 90th percentile weather conditions. • Complete treatments on a 5- to 10-year rotation to maintain and reduce hazardous fuels; maintain a shrub-to-crown base distance of 6 feet or greater or a volume of 3 tons or less per acre. • Control Spanish broom by using mechanical removal and the cut-and-daub application method of an aquatic approved formulation of glyphosate herbicide, timed to prevent seed set and stop vegetative reproduction. Within the Project Area, there will be two treatment levels: • Treatment Level 1 - Defense Zone (LMP Part 3, pp. 81–82) will be applied for 300 feet from the community boundary where the project boundary is adjacent or

Part I 16 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

contiguous to the community boundary. It will result in an open forest structure of no more than approximately 40 percent crown closure with some snags, downed logs, or other fuels on the ground from natural accumulation and resprout of vegetation. The understory shrub cover will be removed under trees. Isolated shrubs can be left intact if reduced to 18 inches in height to promote low flame lengths and to minimize the potential for soil erosion. Shrub cover will not exceed 20 percent. • Treatment Level 2 - Threat Zone (LMP Part 3, pp. 82–83) is less intensive and will occur from the Defense Zone to the project boundaries. Treatment Level 2 will retain from 20 to 40 percent shrub cover. Standing snags and downed logs will remain and be protected from prescribed burn treatments, unless trees or snags are determined to be hazardous; hazardous trees and snags may be removed to meet the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) regulations. Long-term Maintenance Sustained alteration of fire behavior on a fuelbreak and a direct community buffer system require effective and frequent maintenance. The Proposed Action will maintain Fire Condition Class 1 status on a long-term basis. This project will apply design criteria and standards to ensure long-term effectiveness. The same treatments will be conducted during re-entry, removing the natural accumulation of woody materials on the ground and vegetative regrowth through the use of prescribed fire and hand treatments. The same treatments will also be used to maintain control of Spanish broom. Re-entry treatments will be based on the following standards: • 5- to 10-year schedule or when the shrub component exceeds 60 percent ground cover and intermixing of the grass and shrub component exceeds 6 tons per acre. • Fuel volume of dead and other small woody ground materials (normally 3-inch diameter or less) that contributes significantly to the spread of fire and exceeds 8 tons per acre, and when the fuel depth exceeds 12 inches in height over 40 percent of the acreage of the treatment area. • When the various fuel ladders regrow (shrubs under drip lines of trees, small trees, and other regeneration) and the crown base height above regrowth is less than 10 feet. Design Criteria Various measures (or criteria) will be implemented that guide the project through the implementation phase. These criteria are integral to the project and provide details on the way in which specific aspects of the project will be implemented to ensure resources are protected and project objectives are met. Below are the Design Criteria for this project. These criteria are integral to the project and provide details on the way in which

Part I 17 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project specific aspects of the project will be implemented to ensure resources are protected to the extent possible while meeting project objectives. 1. Common Design Criteria The following design criteria will be applied to the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project: a. No new permanent roads will be established. Vehicles will use existing NFS roads. b. Treatment schedules and activities will be coordinated with adjacent landowners and all other agencies and organizations in the local area as appropriate.

2. Manual Treatment Design Criteria a. Pruning with pole saws, chainsaws, or other hand tools will be used where necessary, to meet an average 10-foot canopy base height. b. Tree branches will be pruned as needed, up to 10 feet or to a 50 percent stem-to-crown ratio, whichever is lower (one-half the height of the tree). c. Fuels generated in hand treatments will be lopped and scattered. Where resulting fuel loads are too high to meet prescriptions, fuels will be piled and burned. d. Shrubs within the existing fuelbreak will be thinned to maintain no more than 20 percent shrub cover in the Defense Zone and 20 to 40 percent ground cover in the Threat Zone. e. For any activities within control lines, tree species will be retained in the following descending order of preference: big-cone Douglas fir, black oak, sugar pine, Jeffrey/ponderosa pine, Coulter pine, incense cedar, and white fir. f. Slash piles will not be stacked against living trees, existing downed logs, and rock outcrops.

3. Prescribed Burn Treatment Design Criteria a. Prescribed burning (broadcast and hand pile burning) will generally be accomplished by applying light to moderate fire intensity using hand firing methods and will be utilized to maintain this area. Burning will generally be done in the fall, winter, or early spring. b. Burn piles will be created from materials cut during thinning and pruning. Burn piles will be average 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height, and will be located away from trees and shrub patches to minimize crown and bole scorch. Also, these burn piles will be located 50 feet from edges of fuelbreak

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and 25 feet from plants that are identified to be retained (specimen vegetation). c. When prescribed burning (both pile and broadcast) is used to remove fuels generated by the treatments, established control lines will be cleared of all vegetation from 3 to 10 feet in width, with 1 to 3 feet cleared to mineral soil. To the extent possible, control lines will be rehabilitated using the native material that was scraped and re-spreading of soil, duff or slash to minimize the vulnerability of the disturbed soils to invasion by weed species. d. Prescriptions will be written to limit mortality of trees to approximately 10 percent during prescribed burn treatment activities. e. A prescribed burn plan will be developed and approved prior to initiating any burning operation. A burn plan generally includes unit description, specific prescribed burn objectives, public notification procedures, coordination with other resource agencies (e.g., Air Quality Management District), hazard analysis, contingency plans, firing procedures, risk assessment, mitigation measures, estimated fire behavior, acceptable weather variables, and prescribed burn organization.

4. General and Sensitive Wildlife Design Criteria a. Sensitive wildlife areas may be marked or flagged for avoidance. b. Slash piles will not be stacked against living trees or within 30 feet of downed logs and rock outcrops. Where it is not feasible to avoid creating piles near these features in high quality rubber boa habitat, a biologist will coordinate with the project administrator to determine if additional protection measures are needed to reduce potential impacts. c. If buffer or sensitive areas are not flagged on the ground prior to treatment implementation, a biological monitor may be provided on site when treatments are implemented to help minimize impacts. d. When possible, piles of brush will be burned as soon as possible after piling in order to minimize colonization by wildlife. Piles remaining on site longer than one season will be probed and directionally lighted to encourage wildlife to leave as feasible. e. Where available and within the capability of the site, retain a minimum of 9 downed logs per acre of all age and decay classes minimum 12 inches in diameter and 120 linear feet long. At least half of the logs left should be in the 20-36 diameter range. Exceptions allowed to meet fuels objectives. f. Fuels should be gently raked away from downed logs when necessary prior to ignition of fire to help protect logs during burning activities.

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g. During project implementation, strive to protect a minimum of 10 to 15 hard snags per 5 acres (minimum 16 inches diameter at breast height and 40 feet tall, or next larger available). Exception allowed in Wildland-Urban- Interface Defense Zones and where they pose a safety hazard (LMP Part 3 design criteria, p. 6). h. Within riparian conservation areas (RCAs) retain snags and downed logs unless they are identified as a threat to life, property, or sustainability of the RCA (LMP Part 3 design criteria, p. 6). i. Night work (and use of artificial lighting) will be avoided during this project. Night is defined as the period between sunset and sunrise. Exceptions may be made when necessary during burning operations if mop-up or patrols are required. j. Areas requiring special treatment (e.g., avoidance, monitoring, limited operating periods, etc.) will be delineated on maps and kept within the project file. These maps will be used to guide project implementation and coordination between the project administrator and project biologists to identify avoidance areas or special treatment areas on the ground. k. Project administrators and crews may be provided training and identification information on rare animals within project area and provided direction for what to do if those species are encountered (including notification of a district biologist). l. Use of water sources from National Forest System lands for dust abatement will not occur as part of this project. Coordinate with wildlife biologist, as appropriate, for minimization measures if drafting water from National Forest System lands for prescribed burn activities. m. Wood rat nests will be retained whenever possible, especially in and adjacent to spotted owl habitat. Fuels will be cleared prior to burning if necessary to protect them. n. Protect active and inactive raptor nest areas using buffers or LOPs as needed (S18, LMP Part 3, p7). Known nest trees will be flagged or marked with a wildlife tree tag for avoidance during implementation. o. To comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, project activities will be conducted outside of the breeding season between March 1 and August 31 to the extent possible. If treatment must occur during this time period, project administrator should coordinate with district wildlife biologist to determine any alternative methods to reduce impacts to breeding birds.

5. Threatened and Endangered Wildlife Species

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a. All suitable habitat is considered occupied unless surveys have been performed satisfying the determination protocol and a negative determination is made. b. Habitat suitability surveys will be conducted in 2012 for mountain yellow- legged frog in the western tributary of Cold Creek prior to project implementation in the northeastern project units near this tributary. If habitat is found to be suitable, the following additional measures will apply: i. A Limited Operating Period (LOP) would be in place within 300’ of suitable habitat from February 1st through October 31st. Implementation of planned project activities would not be authorized during this period within the 300’ buffer. ii. No project activities, including prescribed fire will occur within the mapped RCA. An exception will be made within 100 to 300’ of private property. Where the RCA is within 100 to 300’ of private property will be treated by hand only. A fuels specialist and hydrologist will work together. A qualified hydrologist would guide installation of erosion control structures to minimize erosion resulting from hand treatments within the RCA. c. Maintain a limited operating period LOP within 500 feet of southwestern willow flycatcher nests between May 1 through August 31. To reduce potential downstream impacts to mountain yellow-legged frog and other fish/aquatic species in the perennial streams, fuels generated will be piled and burned at least 100 meters from perennial streams.

6. Wildlife Design Criteria for California Spotted Owl a. The California Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy will guide the design of vegetation and fuels management efforts within (Protected Activity Centers) PACs and (Home Range Core) HRCs to retain important habitat components and forest stand structure. No treatments will take place in known spotted owl nest stands (30 to 60 acres around the nest trees). The nest stand will be mapped as a “No Treatment Zone” on project maps. b. Maintain a limited operating period (LOP) prohibiting project activities within 0.25 mile of the nest trees during the owl breeding season (February 1 through August 15), unless surveys confirm that California spotted owls are not nesting (LMP S-20). Where nest sites are not known (e.g., only centroids have been identified or current nest tree information is lacking), the 0.25-mile buffer should be used around the nest stand rather than the nest tree. Follow the USDA Forest Service (1993, 1994) protocol to determine whether owls are nesting. An exception to this LOP may be exercised, if necessary, to allow burning in within the ¼ mile buffer of territory SB118 as long as prep work is

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completed before the LOP and if burning operations occur by hand and no chainsaws are used. c. Within PACs and HRCs, retain (and strive to protect) the largest trees within the treatment area, including all live trees greater than 24 inches DBH unless they are at unnaturally high densities. Exceptions allowed for operability. d. In Defense Zone (0 to 300 feet from community boundary) found in PACs and HRCs, treat forest stands to meet fuels management objectives to protect life and property. Remove grass, shrubs, small trees, and ladder fuels to distances specified by standards for Defense Zones while reducing forest canopies to no less than 40 percent live crown cover if available. e. In Threat Zone (300 feet to 1.5 miles) and within PACs, retain existing overstory and midstory canopy cover except where reduction is needed to bring fire to the ground. Within HRCs, meet fuel loading goals while retaining a minimum of 50 percent canopy cover except where reduction is needed to bring fire to the ground.

7. Botany Design Criteria a. Botanist will coordinate with the layout staff to facilitate surveys of control lines in areas of known occurrences or in habitats that likely to contain threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant species. The objective is to avoid known occurrences rare plant species, to detect new ones and to identify alternate routes/locations where they conflict with resource concerns (e.g., rare plants).

8. Watershed Design Criteria a. RCAs with a width of 30 meters (98 feet) from bankfull stage will be established along designated intermittent streams and 100 meters (328 feet) along designated perennial streams within the project area. All ground-based mechanical equipment will be prohibited in the RCA except as designated by soils scientist or hydrologist. b. Best management practices (BMPs) described in the Forest Service field guide will be followed in order to minimize soil erosion. c. The new National Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol will be used to monitor pre-treatment baseline conditions and post-treatment effectiveness of soil conservation measures. d. An erosion control plan will be developed to prevent road maintenance and project-related, road use-generated erosion from entering stream courses. e. Service and refueling areas will be established well away from wet areas and surface flow (i.e. chain saws).

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f. All broadcast prescribed burns are required to have BMPEP monitoring to evaluate erosion and ground cover, and if necessary, mitigations will be prescribed. g. Relative to Cold Creek watershed (designated WS2 in Soils and Hydrology Specialist Report), require coordination with Forest Hydrologist in drafting Burn Plan Element 9 (pre-burn conditions) relative to erosion control mitigation (BMP Practice 6.2). h. Relative to Cold Creek watershed, require prescribed fire qualified earth scientist to be on-site during implementation (BMP Practice 6.3)

9. Visual Quality Design Criteria a. Treatment activities will be blended with natural landscape features such as natural openings and rock outcrops to create vegetative shapes that mimic natural patterns. b. Fuels resulting from treatments will be piled and burned at least 150 feet from main travel routes and recreation areas. c. Shrub islands will be left along primary travel corridors (i.e., State Highway 38) of various shapes and sizes in a random distribution to provide a natural appearance, while still meeting the fuel reduction objectives.

10. Air Quality Design Criteria a. All burning will be conducted within the State of California air quality regulations administered by permit through the South Coast Air Pollution Control District as described in California’s Agricultural Burning Guidelines in Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.

11. Cultural Resource Design Criteria a. Cultural sites will be identified, flagged, and avoided by project actions. b. Sites will be protected by placing handlines/scratchlines around the sites or hand clearing/thinning of shrubs in and around key features of the sites, at a distance and location determined by the archaeologist. c. If additional cultural resources are discovered during project activities, work will stop in that area immediately until archaeologist can evaluate the site. d. Archaeologist will monitor ground-disturbing activities in culturally sensitive areas.

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e. Post-project monitoring will be conducted to evaluate effectiveness of protective measures.

12. Noxious Weeds Design Criteria a. A noxious weed assessment will specify areas where disturbance from equipment, fire, and project-related weed vectors will be mitigated. b. All equipment used during project implementation will be cleaned to make sure it is free from noxious or invasive exotic weeds before entering the San Bernardino National Forest. If any equipment encounters a weed occurrence in the project area, it will be cleaned to remove weed seed sources prior to leaving the project area. Any off-site materials, used on the project, will be certified weed-free.

13. Spanish broom Design Criteria: a. Hand-pull seedlings and young plants, where possible. b. Pulling out large plants with a pry-bar-type tool (weed wrench) where feasible and effective. c. Cutting shrubs with hand saws and/or chainsaws leaving roots in place, then applying herbicide to the cut-stumps immediately using paintbrush-type or wick applicators with aquatically labeled glyphosate (such as Rodeo or the equivalent) as the only herbicide, at full strength with no surfactants added. A short-lasting colorant (such as Hi-Light Blue or the equivalent) will be added to the herbicide as an indicator of treated stumps. d. Pulling, cutting, and chipping in the area infested with Spanish broom will not occur when the plants contain seed, or cut biomass will remain in place and burned, or chipping will direct chips back into infested areas only. e. Transport of removed invasive plants with seeds or vegetative propagules will occur in enclosed disposal containers or in an enclosed vehicle. Invasive plants to be disposed of off-site will be taken to a facility (i.e., landfill) that contains the disposed items. If burning of removed invasive plants occurs, burn pile sites will be monitored the following year to assess potential needs for revegetation or additional invasive plant removal treatments. f. All equipment including hand equipment such as chainsaws and all vehicles taken off road will be cleaned after working in areas infested with Spanish broom before moving to areas that are not currently infested with Spanish broom.

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g. For any new Spanish broom infestations located near special plant and wildlife status species, botanist and/or wildlife biologist will evaluate and prescribe appropriate avoidance measures. h. Areas with bare soil, created by the treatment of invasive plants, will be evaluated for restoration to prevent further infestations by the same or new invasive plant(s) as noted in the restoration plan. Whenever possible, protect non-target vegetation in order to minimize the creation of exposed ground and the potential for re-colonization of invasive plants. A Forest Service botanist will be consulted prior to any restoration implementation. i. Prior to treatment (within 2 years), a qualified wildlife biologist will be consulted to determine whether habitat for threatened, endangered, or sensitive wildlife species is present in the treatment area. If suitable habitat is found, protective measures may include, but are not limited to, the following: flag and avoid; season restrictions, conduct on-site environmental training to aid workers in recognizing and avoiding special status species that may occur in the project area; and/or treatment methods will be designed to eliminate or minimize negative impacts. j. In the event of a plant and/or wildlife species protection status changing to threatened, endangered, or Forest Service sensitive, additional analysis will be completed to determine potential impacts. Reinitiating US Fish and Wildlife Service consultation will occur, if applicable. k. No Spanish Broom will be cut without coordination with a California DPR Certified Pesticide applicator to be present to apply herbicide to stumps within minutes of cutting (cut stump application of Glyphosate is ineffective if cut stump dries before application).

14. Herbicide Application a. Herbicide application would be consistent with the Forest Service Pesticide Use Policy, would be in compliance with state and federal regulations, and would follow Region 5 Best Management Practices for Water Quality and Vegetation Manipulation and the Region 5 supplement No. 2100-95-1 to 2150 on Pesticide-Use Management and Coordination. Appropriate monitoring protocols will be used to ensure herbicide was applied according to requirements according to label specifications. b. The Herbicide Transportation, Handling, and Emergency Spill Response Plan and spill kit will be on-site when herbicide treatment methods occur. This Plan will include reporting procedures, project safety planning, methods of clean-up of accidental spills, and information including a spill kit contents and location as noted in Forest Service Manual (FSM) 2150 (USFS 1994b), Pesticide-Use Management and Coordination and Handbook (FSH) 2109.14, and Pesticide- Use Management and Coordination Handbook (USFS 1994a).

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c. Apply herbicide at optimum times of year to achieve higher percent kill and the least spread of the weed. Avoid cutting or treating plants during flowering and fruiting to avoid pollen and seed spread. d. Containers and equipment will be disposed of in accordance with regulations to prevent water contamination. e. Re-treating Spanish broom plants that re-sprout may occur using the same techniques. f. Herbicide application will follow applicable project description and design criteria found in the BA/BE for the Spanish Broom Removal Along Evacuation Routes (Kopp et al 2009) found in Appendix A (included as Appendix D of the Wildlife BA/BE for the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project).

15. Recreation Design Criteria a. For public safety, areas with fuel removal activities, prescribed burning, or other fuel treatments may be temporarily closed to public use. Closures could be implemented by use of signs, travel barriers, or temporary gates. b. On the Santa Ana Trail, signs will be posted to advise trail users when project activities are scheduled. c. For the safety of recreationists, trails will be temporarily closed when project activities are taking place. d. Activities will not occur on weekends in the trail corridor. e. To reduce off-highway vehicle (OHV) traffic in treated areas, a combination of natural barriers (rocks, logs, etc.), screening, and fencing will be installed to prevent and/or discourage illegal vehicle activity during and after the project treatment. Coordinate with archaeologist and biologists for placement. f. Identify new unauthorized routes resulting from project implementation; maintain barriers, screening and fencing; and monitor their effectiveness.

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I-3.2 No Action Alternative The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR 1502.14d) requires that a "No Action" alternative be analyzed. The intent of including a No Action alternative is to disclose the effects of not implementing vegetation treatments in the Project Area at this time. It does not preclude activities occurring in another area or in the Project Area at some time in the future. This alternative represents the existing and projected future condition against which other alternatives are compared. Project Description In the No Action alternative, no cutting, piling, or burning would be implemented. The existing fuelbreak would be allowed to grow back to pre-implementation conditions. Sprouting and growth of shrub species would eventually create fuel conditions that would negate much of the recent fuel reduction work already completed in the Project Area. Strategic defensible firefighting zones would be reduced or compromised. The potential for stand-replacing wildfire would continue to increase, as would the potential for associated loss of maintaining essential forest structure as required by some wildlife species. Coniferous tree stocking levels will increase as trees grow and seedlings become established in the stands. Within 10-15 years’ time, brush sprouting and seedling in- growth will create conditions that exceed desired levels for meeting fire objectives. Fuel reduction activities associated with prescribed burning and hand or manual fuel work would not occur. Currently, and as vegetation becomes denser, trees fall, and fuels accumulate, fire line intensity and the ability to suppress fire in these stands may become increasingly more difficult. Direct and indirect impacts (including disturbance to individuals and modification of habitat) would not occur as part of the no action alternative. Indirect effects to plants and vegetation via impacts to soils and hydrology (as described in the specialist reports for these resources) would also not occur. Because of the more complete canopy, shade-tolerant plants would generally be favored, while sun-tolerant or sun-requiring plants would be discouraged. These trends would be reversed in those areas where natural fires occur. Non-native Spanish broom would continue to spread. Treatment Descriptions and Description of the Project Area Since no action would be taken, there are no Treatment Descriptions. Design Criteria Since no action would be taken, there are no Design Criteria.

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I-4.0 MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING RECOMMENDATIONS

These following recommendations are measures that are not included in the Proposed Action but are important for further reducing the effects of the project on wildlife resources and their habitats. The monitoring recommendations are important for providing managers opportunities for adaptive management to respond to unforeseen situations during implementation as well as to learn the effectiveness of Design Criteria incorporated into the Proposed Action. Monitoring results will help provide opportunities for better and more effective land management in the future as we learn more about the impacts of these types of projects. Conducting these measures is contingent upon additional funding or research opportunities. Management and monitoring recommendations are not considered when making determinations of impacts to wildlife species addressed in this document. To reduce potential impacts to threatened, endangered, protected, candidate, and Sensitive wildlife species, and to monitor impacts from the Proposed Action, the following measures are recommended: 1. Radio-telemetry tracking of several spotted owls in or near the Project Area would provide an excellent opportunity to gain an understanding of disturbance tolerances and responses. Increasing our understanding of disturbance tolerances, responses, and habitat use may allow more flexibility in implementing future projects. 2. To ensure that future projects in spotted owl habitat are implemented with the best available science, and to address effects of fuels treatments, spotted owl monitoring should continue for post-treatment using the same methods as were used in the demographic study of the 1980s and 1990s. This should involve protocol-level visits to all of the territories within the Project Area and a control sample of territories for at least five years in order to assess population responses to climate, habitat changes, and fuels treatments. Ideally, all known territories within the SBNF would be included in this effort. These data should also be used to correlate responses to habitat condition and disturbance impacts. Monitoring of the owls in and outside of treatment areas is critical to gain an understanding of the level of overall impacts and the understanding of the effectiveness of future specific project Design Features. Monitoring may also allow an adaptive management approach to ensure that the impacts of the project do not result in the loss of any of the spotted owl territories present in the Project Area. 3. Document raptor occupancy and reproduction in treatment areas and outside treatment areas. This measure would help monitor the level of overall impacts on raptors. 4. Where underburning is used in spotted owl habitat, pre- and post-treatment small mammal population studies are strongly recommended in order to gain an understanding of impacts to prey availability as a result of underburning.

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PART II: WILDLIFE REPORT

II-1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Wildlife Report is required for all Forest Service funded, executed, authorized, or permitted programs and activities. This section addresses impacts and concerns that are not related to Region 5 Sensitive or TEPC wildlife species. It addresses concerns regarding general wildlife and vegetation. The purpose of this report is to document the types and degree of potential effects from the proposed project. The “Project Area”, as used in this document, includes the entire habitat within the project boundaries (or footprint), directly adjacent habitats that have the potential to be affected by the project, and habitats that are located downstream of the project boundaries that have the potential to be affected by the project.

II-2.0 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT – GENERAL

See Section I-3.0 for project location information.

Elevations range from 5,800 to 6,600 feet. Slopes within the Project Area range from approximately 1 to 155 percent, with a mean of 43 percent. Fifty-eight percent of the Project Area has slopes of more than 35 percent. Topography is highly variable and the steep sections are distributed throughout the Project Area. The Project Area drains parts of three 6th-level subwatersheds within the Santa Ana River basin: the Alder Creek-Santa Ana subwatershed to the west, the Deer Creek- Santa Ana River subwatershed to the north and northeast, and the Mill Creek subwatershed to the south (USDA NRCS 2010). There are no perennial streams within the project boundaries, but there is an intermittent western branch of Cold Creek running through the northeast corner. The perennial mainstem Cold Creek flows outside the project footprint but is nearby. Another short reach of intermittent stream flows out of the northern part of the Project Area. The southern portions of the Project Area drain toward Mountain Home Creek, but do not include either the main streambed itself or the stream’s riparian zone. Based on the Fire and Fuels Report prepared by Randall M. Hall in 2004 for the Angelus Oaks Community Protection Project, a geographic information system (GIS) analysis showed substantial fire occurrence within and adjacent to the Project Area dating back to the early 1900s. The Thurman Fire burned in the Mountain Home Creek watershed in 2005, downstream of the Project Area. In 2007 the Emerald Fire also burned the lower reaches of the Mill Creek watershed.

II-2.1 Existing Environment – Vegetation Descriptions The major plant communities in the Project Area are mixed conifer forest, montane chaparral, and mixed hardwood/conifer forest. The following terrestrial natural

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communities follow the nomenclature in Holland (1986) and Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf (1995). The characteristics of these communities and vegetation series found in the Project Area are summarized below.

II-2.1.1 Mixed Conifer Forest The proposed Project Area consists of 72 acres of mixed conifers including ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), white fir (Abies concolor), incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Coulter pine (Pinus colteri), and big-cone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa). Mixed conifer and hardwood forest, with components of black oak (Quercus kelloggii) and live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), cover 143 acres of the area. The existing condition includes open stands, with widely spaced trees and ground vegetation dominated by herbaceous vegetation. Stocking is currently estimated at 109 trees per acre. Ladder fuels were reduced through pruning and elimination of smaller- sized brush and trees under canopies of larger trees during the 2004 Community Defense Project. There are still activity fuels remaining on site from these treatment activities. Post-treatment resprouting of the understory vegetation is occurring and will increasingly degrade the effectiveness of the fuelbreaks around the community of Angelus Oaks. Much of the understory oak species have now regrown, with numerous ground sprouts currently 6 to 8 feet in height. The proposed project vegetation is a mixture of conifer forests, oak woodlands, and shrub areas. Conifer species include Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, white fir, incense cedar, sugar pine, big-cone Douglas fir and Coulter pine. Hardwood species include black oak, canyon live oak, and scrub oak, and alder and willow in the more moist or riparian areas Some of the common shrubs and herbaceous plants that compose the understory are yarrow (Achillea millefolium), mountain dandelion (Agoseris retorsa), Utah serviceberry (Amelanchier utahensis), California false-indigo (Amorpha californica), rock-cress (Arabis sp.), silver wormwood (Artemisia ludoviciana), big sagebrush (Artimesia tridentata), greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula), pink-bracted manzanita (Arctostaphylos pringlei var. drupacea), aster (Aster spp.), California brome (Bromus carinatus), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), western morning-glory (Calystegia occidentalis), Ross’ sedge (Carex rossii), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), mountain whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus), deer brush (Ceanothus integerrimus), yellow pincushion (Chaenactis santolinoides), Nevin’s bird’s beak (Cordylanthus nevinii), popcorn flower (Cryptantha and Plagiobothrys sp.), rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), summer willow herb (Epilobium brachycarpum), California fuchsia (Epilobium canum), and giant woolly-star (Eriastrum densifolium ssp. austromontanum). Other common shrubs and herbaceous plants that compose the understory in this vegetation community include Davidson buckwheat (Eriogonum davidsonii), Parish’s buckwheat (Eriogonum parishii), sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum), Wright’s buckwheat (Eriogonum wrightii ssp. subscaposum), golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), California fescue (Festuca californica), bedstraw (Galium sp.), happy plant (Gayophytum diffusum), gilia (Gilia sp.), everlasting (Gnaphalium sp.), southern Hartweg’s iris (Iris hartwegii ssp. australis), granite gilia (Leptodactylon pungens), California aster (Lessingia filaginifolia), linanthus (Linanthus sp.),

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Nevada bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus nevadensis), silver-mat lupine (Lupinus breweri var. breweri), pennyroyal (Monardella sp.), pine lousewort (Pedicularis semibarbata), beardtongue (Penstemon sp.), phacelia (Phacelia sp.), slender phlox (Phlox gracilis), mutton grass (Poa fendleriana ssp. longiligula), pine bluegrass (Poa secunda), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), Nevada currant (Ribes nevadense), Sierra currant (Ribes roezlii var. roezlii), firepink (Silene veracunda ssp. platyota), California goldenrod (Solidago californica), Parish’s snowberry (Symphorcarpos rotundifolius var. parishii) and mountain violet (Viola purpurea).

II-2.1.2 Montane Chaparral The Project Area is comprised of approximately 22 acres of montane mixed chaparral, a continuous or intermittent canopy of mixed shrubs interspersed with emergent tree species. Montane chaparral also often intergrades with southern mixed chaparral and species vary widely, depending on slope aspect. The common species in this vegetation community are chamise (Adenostema fasiculatum), Utah serviceberry (Amelanchier utahensis), California false-indigo (Amorpha californica), rock-cress (Arabis sp.), Eastwood manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa), big- berry manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca), greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula), pink-bracted manzanita (Arctostaphylos pringlei var. drupacea), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), California brickellbush (Brickellia californica), mountain whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus), deer brush (Ceanothus integerrimus), chaparral ceanothus (Ceanothus leucodermis), birchleaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intermontanus), bush chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens), rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), clarkia (Clarkia sp.), yerba santa (Eriodictyon trichocalyx), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasiculatum), flannel bush (Fremontodendron californicum), ashy silktassel (Garrya flavescens var. pallida), rock spirea (Holodiscus microphyllus), chaparral mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), hollyleaf cherry (Prunus illicifolia), scrub oak (Quercus berberdifolia), interior live oak (Quercus wislizinii), coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica), hollyleaf redberry (Rhamnus illicifolia), and creeping snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis). Emergent shrubs and trees, incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata), Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), big-cone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), and black oak (Quercus kelloggii) are also typical of this community. The forb and grass layer is typically very sparse, but in openings within the shrub canopy it is dominated by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), western morning-glory (Calystegia occidentalis), clarkia (Clarkia sp.), stiff-branch birdsbeak (Cordylanthus rigidus), popcorn flower (Cryptantha and Plagiobothrys sp.), Parry’s larkspur (Delphinium parryi), squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), sapphire woolly-star (Eriastrum sappirinum), Davidson buckwheat (Eriogonum davidsonii), naked buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum ssp. pauciflorum), Parish’s buckwheat (Eriogonum parishii), golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), storksbill (Erodium sp.), wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), bedstraw (Galium sp.), gilia (Gilia sp.),

Part II 31 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project everlasting (Gnaphalium sp.), California aster (Lessingia filaginifolia), linanthus (Linanthus sp.), baby blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii), phacelia (Phacelia sp.), pine bluegrass (Poa secunda), chaparral nightshade (Solanum xantii), California goldenrod (Solidago californica), and fescue (Vulpia sp.).

II-2.1.3 Mixed Hardwood/Conifer Forest The Project Area is comprised of approximately 379 acres of mixed hardwood/conifer forest. The canopy is intermittent with the dominant tree species being white fir (Abies concolor), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), big-cone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), black oak (Quercus kelloggii), interior live oak (Quercus wislizinii), and California bay (Umbellularia californica). The understory can be sparse or abundant, depending on the extent of canopy cover. Some of the common shrubs and herbaceous plants that compose the understory are mountain dandelion (Agoseris retorsa), Utah serviceberry (Amelanchier utahensis), California false-indigo (Amorpha californica), rock-cress (Arabis sp.), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula), pink-bracted manzanita (Arctostaphylos pringlei var. drupacea), aster (Aster sp.), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), western morning-glory (Calystegia occidentalis), Ross’ sedge (Carex rossii), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), mountain whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus), deer brush (Ceanothus integerrimus), clarkia (Clarkia sp.), miners lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), popcorn flower (Cryptantha and Plagiobothrys sp.), rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), summer willow herb (Epilobium brachycarpum), and California fuchsia (Epilobium canum). Other common shrubs and herbaceous plants that are often present in the understory are Parish’s buckwheat (Eriogonum parishii), golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), bedstraw (Galium sp.), happy plant (Gayophytum diffusum), gilia (Gilia sp.), southern Hartweg’s iris (Iris hartwegii ssp. australis), California aster (Lessingia filaginifolia), linanthus (Linanthus sp.), Nevada bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus nevadensis), beardtongue (Penstemon sp.), phacelia (Phacelia sp.), slender phlox (Phlox gracilis), mutton grass (Poa fendleriana ssp. longiligula), pine bluegrass (Poa secunda), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), Nevada currant (Ribes nevadense), Sierra currant (Ribes roezlii var. roezlii), California goldenrod (Solidago californica), and Parish’s snowberry (Symphorcarpos rotundifolius var. parishii).

II-2.2 Existing Environment – Roads and Trails There are several Forest System Roads that cross through the project footprint: 1N53, 1N12, and 1N07. The Santa Ana River Trail also traverses through the northern portion of the project footprint. There is one old (2003) dozer line on the eastern side of the Project Area constructed as part of a wildfire contingency plan, although the fire never burned through the community of Angelus Oaks. The steep slopes ofmuch of the Project Area generally discourage unauthorized roads and trails.

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II-2.3 Existing Environment – Wildlife

II-2.3.1 Fish No perennial streams flow through the project footprint, although a portion of the perennial RCA for Cold Creek extends slightly into the northeast corner of the project footprint. Runoff from the area flows to three designated perennial streams outside of the project boundaries: Mountain Home Creek (tributary to Mill Creek and the Santa Ana River) to the south, Cold Creek (tributary to the Santa Ana River) to the northeast, and the Santa Ana River itself. There are two identified intermittent streams within the project footprint. The first is a western tributary to Cold Creek and the second is a tributary to the Santa Ana River (see Map B-6). Runoff and sediment from project activities has the potential of adversely affecting aquatic and riparian systems in these streams. Fish documented in Mountain Home Creek include rainbow trout (observed during stream surveys conducted by Forest Service biologists in 2009) and brown trout (Kathie Meyer, pers. comm.)

II-2.3.2 Amphibians No perennial streams flow through the project footprint, although a portion of the perennial RCA for Cold Creek extends slightly into the northeast corner of the project footprint. No seeps or springs are known from the project area. Runoff from the area flows to three designated perennial streams outside of the project boundaries: Mountain Home Creek (tributary to Mill Creek and the Santa Ana River) to the south, Cold Creek (tributary to the Santa Ana River) to the northeast, and the Santa Ana River itself. There are two identified intermittent streams within the project footprint. The first is a western tributary to Cold Creek and the second is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. Runoff and sediment from project activities has the potential of adversely affecting aquatic and riparian systems in these streams. Amphibians often require a source of standing or flowing water to complete their life cycle. However, some terrestrial species can survive in drier areas by remaining in moist environments found beneath leaf litter and fallen logs, or by burrowing into the soil. These xeric- and mesic-adapted species conserve moisture by emerging only under conditions of high humidity or when the weather is cool and/or wet. More common amphibians that may be present in the Project Area include garden slender salamander (Batrachoseps major) and arboreal salamander (Aneides lugubris).

II-2.3.3 Reptiles The diversity of reptile species is related to the diversity of plant communities found on the site. Typically, plant communities that have an abundant amount of leaf litter, rocks, and rotting logs will have a higher diversity than those areas that have been highly modified or disturbed. Common reptiles known or expected to occur within the Project Area include side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana), western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), southern sagebrush lizard (Scloporus graciosus vandenburgianus),

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western skink (Eumeces skiltonianus), western whiptail (Cnemidophorus tigris), southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata), gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus), striped racer (Masticophis lateralis), and southern pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis helleri).

II-2.3.4 Birds The native forest, meadow, and riparian communities within and adjacent to the Project Area provide habitat for many bird species. Birds commonly seen, and/or expected to occur, include American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), American kestrel (Falco sparverius), common barn owl (Otus kennicottii), mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), Mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus), California quail (Callipepla californica), Stellar’s jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica), band-tailed pigeon (Columba fasciata), mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli), American robin (Turdus migratorius), dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), spotted towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), California towhee (Pipilo crissalis), western wood peewee (Contopus sordidulus), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), western bluebird (Sialia mexicana), brown creeper (Certhia americana), Cassin’s finch (Carpodacus cassinii), housefinch (Carpodacus mexicanus), western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), white-headed woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus), Nuttall’s woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii), hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus), house wren (Troglodytes aedon), black-headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus), Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna), pacific slope flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis), American goldfinch (Spinus tristis), wrentit (Chamaea fasciata), oak titmouse (Baeolophus(Parus) inornatus), black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans), song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), and white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).

II-2.3.5 Mammals Identification of mammals is often determined by physical evidence rather than direct visual identification. This is because: 1) many of the mammal species that potentially occur on site are nocturnal and are not often active during surveys, and 2) trapping to determine presence is labor-intensive and generally cannot prove absence. The Project Area contains suitable habitat for many mammal species, including use for foraging, nesting/burrowing, and movement. Mammal species occurring or expected to occur in the Project Area include small mammals such as western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus), lodgepole chipmunk (Tamias speciosus), golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), Beechey ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi), Botta’s pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae), deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata). Larger mammals include the black bear (Ursus americanus), mountain lion (Felis concolor), southern mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), bobcat (Lynx rufus) and coyote (Canis latrans). Acoustic surveys for bats conducted by the San Bernardino County Museum in various locations across the Forest, in 2007 and 2008, recorded several bat species [big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), California myotis (Myotis californicus), fringed myotis (Myotis thysanoides), little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), long-legged myotis (Myotis volans),

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long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis), Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), western mastiff bat (Eumops perotis), western pipistrelle (Pipistrellus hesperus), small- footed myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum), Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis)].

II-3.0 EFFECTS OF PROPOSED ACTION – GENERAL

II-3.1 Levels of Impact Analyses The analysis of potential effects includes direct and indirect impacts associated with implementation of the Proposed Action. In later sections of this document, cumulative effects will also be analyzed for Sensitive, TEPC, and MIS animals; those discussions will address the potential for project-specific impacts to combine with other impacts from past, present, or future actions/activities in a cumulative way. The factors considered in each level of analysis are explained below.

II-3.1.1 Direct Impacts: Direct impacts are considered actions or activities that are immediate in space and/or time (e.g., physical damage to plants, death or injury of animals, destruction of eggs, disturbance that disrupts breeding behavior (such as noise from chainsaw operations and crew activities), habitat degradation via canopy cover reduction, etc.).

II-3.1.2 Indirect Impacts: Indirect impacts are actions or activities that could result in impacts to the species but are removed from the project activities in space and/or time (e.g., downstream sedimentation, changes to hydrological patterns, changes in soil moisture, impacts to pollinators, etc.).

II-3.1.3 Cumulative Effects: Cumulative effects analyses consider the effects of past, present and future actions that may combine with the predicted effects of the Proposed Action. Cumulative impacts result when the effects of an action are added to or interact with other effects in a particular place and within a particular time. The analysis area for cumulative effects analysis depends on the distribution of the species. The cumulative effects analysis area for some species is relatively small (e.g., Project Area), but analysis for some species, where local effects can be extended to the regional scale through animal movement and population dynamics, such as for California spotted owls, may be done over the mountain range. II-3.1.3.1 Cumulative Effects – Past and Ongoing Activities/Actions: Past and ongoing activities and their impacts to species and habitats are described in the “Baseline Condition” discussions for each species and are not described in depth in this section. “Past” is self-evident. “Ongoing” activities are recurring activities that have occurred over time and will continue to occur [e.g., road maintenance, trail maintenance, recreational use of the SBNF, hazard tree removal along Southern California Edison (SCE) powerlines and State/County highways, SCE periodic

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replacement of deteriorated poles, etc.]. In terms of how the species and habitats included in this project might be impacted, the impacts of past and ongoing activities are included in the species-by-species discussion of existing conditions/ baseline. The LMP and supporting Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) also contain discussions of various past influences on the SBNF. The Biological Assessment/Biological Evaluation and Wildlife Report for the Angelus Oaks Community Protection Project (Dyke and French 2004) is incorporated by reference. Refer to this document for disclosure of effects to wildlife species resulting from the 2004 Community Protection project. See Part I, Project History, for information on project design for the 2004 Community Protection Project. II-3.1.3.2 Cumulative Effects – Current Activities/Actions: In this analysis, “current” activities and actions are those that are one-time projects in the implementation phase. There are several SBNF fuels reduction projects currently being implemented in the San Bernardino Mountains in mixed conifer and chaparral vegetation types. SBNF current activities that may contribute to the cumulative effects of this project on Forest lands are included in Table 1 below. All of these projects have similar Design Criteria to the project in terms of protection to wildlife and plant habitat and species occurrences. Non-Forest Service activities that are currently being implemented and may contribute to the cumulative effects of this project include the Caltrans storm damage repairs on Hwy 330. The SBNF and its nonprofit organization, the San Bernardino National Forest Association (SBNFA), are also partners with State, County, and other federal (e.g., NRCS) agencies in fuels reduction and forest thinning efforts on private lands. II-3.1.3.3 Cumulative Effects – Foreseeable Future Activities/Actions: Foreseeable future projects are expected to be implemented in upcoming years but it depends on funding. Vegetation management activities are focused on fuels reduction and forest health projects. Reasonably forseeable future SBNF activities that may contribute to the cumulative effects of this project on Forest lands are included in Table 1 below. Non-Forest Service actions that are in the foreseeable future include continued fuels reduction and forest thinning on private lands. Additional planned activities on private lands that may contribute to the cumulative effects of this project are not known. Table 1. Current and Reasonably Forseeable Future Activities on the SBNF

Project HUC-12 Project Name Type of Project Area Status Location Subwatershed Size Alder Creek-Santa Angelus Oaks Same general area as Fuels reduction 1,010 Ongoing/ Ana, Deer Creek- Fuel Reduction current Angelus Oaks and forest health acres Current Santa Ana River, Mill Project (2004) project Creek Oak Glen/Banning Fuels reduction 500 Ongoing/ North of communities of Mill Creek, Smith Hazardous Fuel and forest health acres Current Yucaipa, Oak Glen, and Creek, Headwaters of

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Reduction Project Banning, south of Mill San Gorgonio River, Creek (west side of Little Gorgonio Creek, project area drains into Yucaipa Creek, Santa Mill Creek, approximately Ana Wash-Santa Ana 5 miles from the Angelus River Oaks project) East side of project area begins near Angelus Deer Creek-Santa Oaks, extends west to Ana River, Siberia Santa Ana 1,954 Hwy 330 along Forest Creek-Bear Creek, Fuelbreak Planning Fuelbreak acres Road 1N09 (eastern Alder Creek-Santa project boundary within 2 Ana River, Plunge miles of Angelus Oaks Creek project) Deer Creek crossing at Deer Creek Forest Road Forest Road 1N09 (within Deer Creek-Santa Road 1N09 Improvement, low 2 acres Planning 2 miles of Angelus Oaks Ana River Crossing water crossing Project) Bluff Mesa around Bluff Bluff Mesa Fuels reduction 1,600 Lake south of Bear Lake Siberia Creek-Bear Hazardous Fuels Planning and health forest acres (approximate 5 miles from Creek Reduction Project Angelus Oaks project) North of San Gorgonio 21,000 Santa Ana Hazardous fuels wilderness along Highway Deer Creek-Santa acre Landscape Fuels reduction and Planning 38 up to south end of Big Ana River, Big Bear analysis Reduction healthy forest Bear and Snow Summit Lake area ski resorts Mill Creek Invasive plant Invasive Plant treatment 27,115 Planning Southeast of project area Mill Creek Treatment Hazardous fuels Thomas Hunting Forest Road 1N12 reduction and 360 Planning Mill Creek Grounds southwest of project area healthy forest Along road prism of Highway 38 (20 feet on 22 Spanish Broom Invasive species Ongoing/ each side of pavement acres Mill Creek Removal removal Current from mile marker 19.00

south to 9.80.) USFS lands only.

II-3.2 Impacts of Proposed Action – Forest Stand Conditions The Silviculture Report for the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project (GeomorphIS 2011a) analyzed vegetation conditions for the current conditions and for what could be expected after the Proposed Action is implemented. This report concluded that the Proposed Action would improve forest conditions and large-tree recruitment, achieving desired forest conditions over a larger landscape. It further concludes that there would be beneficial cumulative effects associated with the Proposed Action in terms of forest stand conditions.

II-3.3 Impacts of Proposed Action – Fire Hazard and Fire Behavior The Fire and Fuels Report for the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project (FireWise2000 2011) analyzed fire behavior for the current conditions and expected conditions after the Proposed Action is implemented. The report found that the Proposed Action would reduce fuels and improve forest health around the community of

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Angelus Oaks. It would maintain an acceptable fuel loading and fuel hazard condition and meet the desired condition for the area around Angelus Oaks.

II-3.4 Impacts of Proposed Action – Wildlife The following discussion describes potential direct and indirect impacts that may be common to many of the plants, animals, or habitats in the Project Area. These discussions may also apply to TEPCS species discussed in later sections of this document. Parts of this discussion will be referenced later in the document for specific species that are known to occur or have the potential to occur in the Project Area.

II-3.4.1 Spread or Establishment of Non-native Invasive Species Any ground-disturbing activity can facilitate the establishment and spread of noxious or invasive weed species. Many non-native plant species have the ability to out-compete native plant species for available water and nutrients, and can also create a flashy and continuous fuel-bed that effectively accelerates fire return intervals. Once established, these invasive non-native species can eliminate native vegetation and associated plant and wildlife habitats. In the Project Area, the invasion and/or establishment of non-native plants could further degrade important wildlife habitats. Of particular concern is cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Cheatgrass has become a widespread problem throughout much of the SBNF. It also out-competes native plant species and develops almost a monoculture groundcover of a grass that is not important for foraging or nesting for most wildlife species. In addition, cheatgrass dries early in the summer creating a flashy continuous fuel that carries fire in unnatural fire patterns.

Spanish broom is another non-native species of concern. Approximately 3 acres of Spanish broom is proposed for eradication within the Project Area as part of the Proposed Action. It is considered a potential fire hazard in California, when mature plants form dense, woody undergrowth in hard to reach, hilly areas. Removal of non- native Spanish broom during project implementation is expected to improve wildlife habitat. Of some concern to avian species in the San Bernardino Mountains is the potential for increased disturbance to attract and support non-native species such as brown-headed cowbird, European starling, and European house sparrow. Brown-headed cowbirds and European starlings are present in the Project Area, including in riparian areas. Cowbirds in particular can dramatically affect reproduction of native birds, ultimately replacing native species in areas with huge invasions. Cowbird invasions can be a critical factor for federally-listed birds such as southwestern willow flycatcher and least Bell’s vireo, for example. At this time, cowbird occurrences in the San Bernardino Mountains are sporadic and patchy, mostly located in urbanized areas or areas with cattle grazing and horse stables. However, in recent years, cowbirds have been showing up in some more natural areas as well (e.g. Cajon Creek). The disturbances associated with the Proposed Action may result in increased cowbird numbers and distribution.

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II-3.4.2 Changes in Microclimates Removal of trees and shrubs during the project would result in some limited reduction in canopy closure and an opening up of the forest in some portions of the Project Area. This would result in more sunlight reaching the forest floor, increases in soil temperatures, and reduction in soil moistures. These types of changes in the forest floor microclimate affect germination rates of native plant seeds and survivability of forest floor plants (favoring sun-tolerant species over shade-tolerant species). This may, in turn, result in changes in habitat suitability for small terrestrial mammals, reptiles, and amphibians that often rely on specialized microclimate characteristics. The forest floor microclimate is naturally dynamic, changing as features change, with species moving to adjust. However, if those changes occur on a larger landscape level, microclimate habitat losses may result in some short-term displacement of species to areas that are more suitable.

II-3.4.3 Potential Impacts to Vegetation Used as Wildlife Habitat In as much as vegetation is a critical component of wildlife habitat in terms of foraging sites, food supplies, cover/shelter, and breeding sites, losses of or disturbance to native vegetation can affect habitat availability and quality for wildlife species. The proposed activities would affect vegetation through cutting, pruning, piling, and burning. Construction of control lines can cause uprooting and crushing of vegetation. These activities have the potential to disrupt germination and survival of seedlings. Measures to minimize the extent and severity of soil disturbance are expected to reduce these effects. General impacts to soils often result in indirect effects to plants through localized and/or widespread increases in compaction, erosion, and sedimentation. Compaction impacts plants by making root and moisture penetration more difficult. Erosion impacts plants through removal of seed banks, uprooting and/or undermining plants, and changes to soil hydrology (e.g., down-cutting can de-water meadows and dry up meadow stream margins). Sedimentation can result in burial of root crowns (leading to plant disease and, in some cases, death), burial of whole plants, and burial of seed banks, rhizomes, and bulbs to the extent that penetration to the soil surface is reduced or precluded. Erosion and soil compaction can slow natural revegetation of disturbed areas because seeds do not have the opportunity to germinate. Changes in soil temperature by canopy removal or opening can affect germination and seedling survival. Losses of soil productivity can likewise affect germination, survival, and vegetation health. The proposed project will result in changes in horizontal and vertical structural components of the forested habitat as trees and brush are removed. The die-off of vegetation due to the drought has already contributed to a change. The extent of the changes in the overstory and understory will vary by site and treatment type. The changes in stand structure will affect different wildlife species in different ways. Some opportunistic and primary successional species will benefit in areas where the stand structure changes while other species, particularly old-growth dependent species, are likely to suffer.

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Likewise, the drought-related vegetation mortality and the proposed project may result in changes to the species composition of the stands. In areas where a high percentage of trees have died and were removed, the opening up of the stands most likely favored sun-loving plant species and discouraged shade-loving species. The wildlife species using those areas may likewise change, reflecting the new vegetation types. Because of the patchy nature of the die-off, these changes will occur in a mosaic pattern. These fluctuations in species occurrences and population levels are considered natural and will not likely be significantly affected by the proposed projects. The drought-related vegetation mortality and proposed project may also result in some fragmentation of habitat types. Project design retains some shrubs and shrub islands, creating a mosaic pattern. The measures included in the Proposed Action to retain snags and to protect riparian corridors should help prevent significant impacts to movement. Species-specific responses to fragmentation will vary and is discussed in further detail below.

II-3.4.4 Potential General Impacts to Wildlife Habitat The Proposed Action would result in changes in forest structure due to fuel reduction and burning. The trees would be expected to be more resilient to drought and insects, and have a lower risk of stand-replacing wildfire (see Silviculture Report). The treatments are intended to lower existing fuel concentrations and decrease ladder fuels. Fires would be more likely to be a surface fire, be less severe, and be of lower intensity than under current conditions (see Fire and Fuels Report). Pruning will reduce the forest structure within about ten feet of the forest floor. Incidental mortality of live trees may occur during prescribed burning operations, but Design Criteria are incorporated that strive to limit the mortality to less than 10%. Trees that are considered hazardous to life and/or property may be felled. Pile burning has a risk of affecting wildlife habitat, as piles will be large and there will be many of them. Some piles may be left for years and, over time, they will provide important habitat for wildlife. This also increases the chances of mortality if wildlife are trapped in the piles during a fire or pile burning. Design Criteria call for avoiding creating piles in RCAs or near certain habitat features to the extent possible reduces the chance of wildlife becoming trapped in burned piles. Under burning would reduce the existing level of shrub and understory cover. While under burning is intended to remove shrubs and small trees, medium and large trees may sometimes be killed during the burning operations. Line construction (either hand or wet-line) around important trees and areas would help reduce the risk of these undesirable effects. Burning operations will cause a reduction in ground cover used by small animals, thereby making them more susceptible to predation. Indirect effects of opening the forest up and removal of dead and down will change the habitat suitability for certain wildlife species. Those species that require early successional habitat stages will initially, and after periodic maintenance, benefit. While those that require denser, more mature, and/or complex habitat associations will be negatively impacted (see individual species discussions, below).

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II-3.4.5 Potential Impacts to Aquatic and Riparian Species and Habitats A number of species rely on riparian habitats for shelter, movement corridors, foraging, and breeding sites. Possible impacts to aquatic wildlife habitat include sedimentation, filling of pools, scouring of pools, scouring of/damage to vegetation, suffocation of egg masses and larval amphibians due to sedimentation, changes in water chemistry due to transport of ash through the system, change in vegetative cover and shading, and changes in aquatic macroinvertebrate populations. The Angelus Oaks Project straddles three 6th-level subwatersheds: Deer Creek-Santa Ana River, Alder Creek-Santa Ana River, and Mill Creek (Figure 2). The southern portion of the project site drains into Mountain Home Creek, a tributary to Mill Creek, but the mainstem of the stream is not within the project boundaries. The northeastern portion of the project site drains into Cold Creek, a direct tributary to the Santa Ana River. Several small unnamed tributaries to the Santa Ana River occur on the north side of the project site. RCAs are areas defined in the Land Management Plan to provide for management of riparian resources. RCAs are stream buffers delineated as 30 meters from intermittent streams and 100 meters from perennial streams. There are three designated Riparian Conservation Areas (RCAs): 1) main stem Cold Creek (perennial); 2) unnamed tributary to the Santa Ana River (intermittent); and 3) the western tributary of Cold Creek (intermittent). The three designated RCAs within the Project Area are all within the Deer Creek-Santa Ana River watershed (see Figure 3).

Part II 41 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Figure 2. Angelus Oaks 6th-level Watersheds

Part II 42 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Figure 3. RCAs within the Angelus Oaks Project Area

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a) Direct Impacts to Riparian Vegetation: Existing riparian canopy provides a source of large woody debris for input into streams. This is important in maintaining habitat complexity for resident aquatic species in the form of pool habitat, breeding habitat, and escape cover. The trees in riparian areas provide stream bank stabilization via root masses. Per project design and project Design Criteria, no ground-based equipment use would be allowed within RCAs. Other activities that are restricted from occurring in RCAs have not been specifically identified at this stage. Designation of RCAs is intended to protect perennial and intermittent streams, lakes, and wetlands. The LMP allows only those actions that maintain or improve long-term aquatic and riparian ecosystem health (LMP Appendix E). The Forest Hydrologist will coordinate with fire management staff to develop an implementation plan that meets this LMP objective. Additional Design Criteria state that logs and snags will be retained in RCAs unless they are identified as a threat to life, property, or sustainability of the RCA. Fuels generated will be piled and burned at least 100 meters from perennial streams. Furthermore, all applicable BMPs will be followed (Appendix C). During underburning operations, there may be pockets of riparian habitat within the project boundaries that are not designated as RCAs that could be burned. Some backing fire may be used in designated RCAs. It is expected that there would be little impact to riparian vegetation due to the time of year when suitable burn windows occur and the higher moisture levels in riparian areas (which would help limit the spread of fire). Nonetheless, some loss of RCA riparian habitat is possible (note that no riparian habitat that has been determined to be suitable for the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher will be lost during burning activities because no suitable riparian habitat for this species exists in the project footprint; see Part IV-3.1.1 for further information). Low intensity creeping backfire would probably not result in intense burning of willows or other riparian shrubs and trees. If creeping backfires did enter riparian habitat, it would likely result in a reduction in riparian vegetation until willow regrowth occurs (generally 3 to 5 years). Note that no riparian habitat that has been determined to be suitable for the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher will be lost during burning activities because no suitable riparian habitat for this species exists in the project footprint; see Part IV- 3.1.1 for further information. b) Direct and Indirect Impacts to Soils and Hydrology in Aquatic Systems: Generalized impacts to the hydrology could be expected as a result of soil disturbance and burning operations during fuels reduction operations. These include an increase in erosion and sedimentation around treatment areas. Channeling may occur along compacted soils. An increase in nitrate leaching could also result in increased eutrophication and increased toxicity to surface waters. Project activities could result in increased peak flows and sediment yield, which could reduce dissolved oxygen levels and cover gills, leading to respiratory impairment. Deposited silt could coat plant life and impact primary productivity and indirect food sources. An increased peak flow could cause scouring of existing sediment deposits and even cause damage or loss of vegetation. Increased sedimentation could cause filling of pools and development of new sediment banks.

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Road use often can affect riparian resources and fish habitat capabilities. Poorly or unmaintained dirt roads are known to produce fine sediment in streams. Sediment entering stream channels can affect channel shape and form, stream substrates, the structure of aquatic habitats, and the structure and abundance of aquatic populations (Chamberlin et al. 1991). Roads in riparian areas can result in an introduction of fine sediment, increased landslide potential due to road location and design, and re-routing of sediment-laden water. There is no road construction proposed as part of this project. Only existing roads will be used. Use of existing roads to facilitate implementation of the project is not expected to increase sediment into aquatic habitats. Aquatic macroinvertebrates may be impacted by project implementation. However, effects could be adverse or beneficial depending on the species' habitat preferences. For example, Trichoptera and Hydropsychidae are favored through increased sedimentation whereas Ephemeroptera, Leptophlebiidae, Plecoptera, Eustheniidae, and Coleoptera are disadvantaged by increased sedimentation (R. Taylor pers. comm.).

The Project Soils and Hydrology Report (Geomorphis 2011) determined that the Proposed Action could cause a very small percentage (less than 1 percent) increase in runoff and sediment yield at three of the four subwatersheds that were included in the modeling (Figure B-6; WS4, WS1, and WS3). WS4 and WS1 are located in the Santa Ana River and the third outlet, WS3, is located at the confluence of Mountain Home Creek and Mill Creek. The fourth subwatershed that was included in the hydrologic modeling, Cold Creek, is modeled to experience a slightly higher percentage increase in runoff and sediment yield at its outlet (WS2) in the Santa Ana River (less than 2 percent). The Project Soils and Hydrology report further discloses that potential exists for localized areas of scour or deposition in the streambeds within the Project Area. Modeling suggests that within the western tributary to Cold Creek sediment yield may increase substantially, with some hillslopes exhibiting a 10 percent increase and some stream reaches showing a more than 6 percent increase. The proposed treatments will likely have short-term effects on hillslope runoff and erosion processes (e.g., downhill movement of soil and organic material), as that is the general result when soil is exposed to rainfall impact and overland flow. Studies indicate that watersheds in the Southwest generate the same amount of total runoff after a burn as before the burn, but the peak runoff is greater (has more erosive power)(B. Goff pers. comm. 2011). It is important to note that the hydrologic modeling conducted for this project did not consider any measures to reduce impacts of the vegetation treatments. Therefore, the modeling is forecasting the likely change in hydrologic response based on non-mitigated conditions. The purpose of the BMPs (BMPs applicable for this project can be found in Appendix C) is to localize the erosion and sediment to small areas, keep it out of the channels, and reduce the runoff peak flow. After the vegetation cover returns, the system stabilizes again. Also, one of the key purposes of the RCAs is to act as a hydrologic buffer between the hillslopes and the channel. Thus, designation of RCAs and adherence to BMPs are expected to reduce the runoff and sediment yield within and downstream of the Project Area. Furthermore, existing riparian canopy provides a

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source of large woody debris for input into streams. This is important in maintaining habitat complexity for resident aquatic species in the form of pool habitat, breeding habitat, and escape cover. The trees in riparian areas provide stream bank stabilization via root masses. To further ensure protection of water and soil resources, the Forest Hydrologist will participate in development of the Burn Plan Element 9 (pre-burn conditions) relative to erosion control mitigation and will oversee development of an Erosion Control Plan for treatments in the Cold Creek watershed. A fire-qualified earth scientist will be on site to monitor compliance with the Plan during implementation in the Cold Creek watershed. The National Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol will be used to monitor long- term soil conditions within the Project Area. These measures, in addition to RCAs and BMPs, are expected to effectively mitigate most project-related increases in peak flows and sediment yield to Mountain Home Creek, Mill Creek, main stem Cold Creek, the western tributary to Cold Creek, the unnamed tributary to the Santa Ana River, and the Santa Ana River. Tables 2 and 3 below include the probability of occurrence of morphological and biological impacts to the Cold Creek and the Mountain Home Creek watersheds. The determinations in the tables below are based on the hydrology analysis in the Project Soils and Hydrology Report (Geomorphis 2011) and take into consideration full implementation of all project Design Criteria. The determinations made in the tables below represent the professional opinions of the project hydrologists (B. Goff and R. Taylor). As biologists, we (the authors of this document) are not well-versed in soil science and hydrology. Therefore, we must rely on the professional judgment of those that are experts in these fields. The professional judgment of the project hydrologists is critical in assisting us in our biological determinations. As illustrated in these tables, modification of aquatic habitats within and downstream of the project boundaries is anticipated to be unlikely or very unlikely to occur given adherence to project Design Criteria. Table 2. Probability of Changes in Stream Morphology/Biology Resulting from Project-related Impacts in the Cold Creek Watershed PROBABILITY OF OCCURRENCE* POTENTIAL STREAM Very Very Unlikely MORPHOLOGICAL/BIOLOGICAL Likely to May Unlikely likely to to Occur Occur to CHANGES Occur Occur Occur 1. Increase streambed sedimentation - 1 x to 2 inches 2. Increase streambed sedimentation - 2 x to 3 inches 3. Increase streambed sedimentation - 3 x to 4 inches

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4. Increase streambed sedimentation - >4 x inches 5. Result in damage to aquatic vegetation x

6. Result in damage to streamside x vegetation 7. Modification of ripple/pool sequence x

8. Reduce availability of surface water x

9. Change boulder/rock composition x

10. Increase water turbidity x

11. Alter water pH due to transport of ash x

*Based on professional opinion of project hydrologists, Bruce Goff and Robert Taylor.

Table 3. Probability of Changes in Stream Morphology/Biology Resulting from Project-related Impacts in the Mountain Home Creek Watershed PROBABILITY OF OCCURRENCE* POTENTIAL STREAM Very Very Unlikely MORPHOLOGICAL/BIOLOGICAL Likely to May Unlikely likely to to Occur Occur to CHANGES Occur Occur Occur 1. Increase streambed sedimentation - 1 x to 2 inches 2. Increase streambed sedimentation - 2 x to 3 inches 3. Increase streambed sedimentation - 3 x to 4 inches 4. Increase streambed sedimentation - >4 x inches 5. Result in damage to aquatic vegetation x

6. Result in damage to streamside x vegetation 7. Modification of ripple/pool sequence x

8. Reduce availability of surface water x

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9. Change boulder/rock composition x

10. Increase water turbidity x

11. Alter water pH due to transport of ash x

*Based on professional opinion of project hydrologists, Bruce Goff and Robert Taylor.

II-3.4.6 Temporary Noise Disturbance/Displacement/Abandonment During project activities, there would be some short-term negative effects on forest- and chaparral-associated species. Use of crew vehicles, hand tools, and presence of crews would result in higher-than-normal noise levels and may locally displace animals that are foraging, denning, or breeding in the area. These effects vary by species, but LOPs have been incorporated where needed and would reduce the potential for disturbance during key periods for some species. Because of the LOPs, and the fact that not all of the treatments would be implemented concurrently, there would be portions of the Project Area without disturbance at any given time. Design Criteria provides for avoiding habitat disturbances during the nesting season for breeding birds and other animals (March 15 to August 15) whenever practicable. When not practicable (and this is often the case), the impacts discussed in Part II-3.4 are applicable for migratory birds. Disturbance impacts on wildlife species have been fairly well-documented for a number of species including deer, small mammals, reptiles, and nesting and perching birds. Most species exhibit a "flight" response to disturbance resulting in temporary or, if disturbance is constant, permanent displacement. Flight responses and/or disturbances can negatively affect animal health by requiring increased energy expenditures. Animals respond to disturbances through behavioral and/or physiological responses. Disturbance responses are classed in three ways: attraction (curiosity, food-seeking), tolerance, and aversion. Stress requires energy expenditure. In some cases, it may require more energy than an animal can take in, so they must use body energy reserves. Continuous stress may eventually cause illness or death. Stress combined with other factors such as severe winter conditions or constant disturbance may cause individuals to die or fail to reproduce. In such cases, populations would decline. When disturbance occurs over a large region for many years, the population may be unable to continue to reproduce and survive in the area (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995). The distance of displacement depends on several factors: quality of vegetative and topographic cover (line-of-sight from disturbance points), amount and type of disturbance, timing of disturbance (e.g., noise during the day may not impact a nocturnal species, and animals may be more or less tolerant of disturbance during breeding season), and tolerance for disturbance (e.g., hunted populations are generally more likely to flee from disturbance than nonhunted/protected populations) (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995).

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Disturbance effects include: alteration of habitat use (avoidance or abandonment of an area—either temporarily or permanently), interruption of reproductive activities (courtship, mating, prenatal care, nesting, etc.), and increased predation (especially of abandoned nests) (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995). Since some of the Project Area is bordered by or adjacent to private property and roads/trails, relatively high levels of disturbance probably already exist. Use of the area for dog walking, hiking, mountain biking, and driving most likely has already resulted in lower numbers of species in those areas as well as a reduced diversity of species. The proposed project will increase the amount of activity occurring in certain parts of the Project Area on a short-term basis. Those activities will further displace animals from the area on a temporary basis and will be repeated when areas are retreated over time. Increased abandonment of nests would be likely in and adjacent to the Project Areas (depending on season of operations). Some of the abandonment is likely to be short- term during the duration of activity. However, short-term abandonment during breeding or nesting may result in loss of a year’s reproductive efforts. All types of animals may experience disturbance impacts during the project, including black bears, badgers, bobcats, deer, coyotes, birds, small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Larger, more mobile species would be expected to leave the area on a temporary basis and move back in after cessation of activity. Because the project is expected to last a limited amount of time and occur, to the extent possible, outside the breeding season for birds and many other smaller species (March 15 through August 15), disturbance will be short-term but will be repeated when areas are retreated over time. Overall, impacts are expected to be limited due to Design Criteria and localized.

II-3.4.7 Death and Injury of Individuals Some losses of individual animals are likely due to the various activities associated with the proposed project. The potential for death or injury of animals depends on time of year, activity patterns of the individual species, and the activity taking place on the ground. Some direct loss of animals may occur due to brush cutting, pile burning, broadcast, and burning. Animals nesting or denning in trees and shrubs may be injured or killed during vegetation/hazard tree removal, depending on timing. Animals may also be killed or injured during burning of slash piles and underburning. Ideally, piles would be burned as soon as possible after piling to limit the potential for colonization by animals. However, due to logistics of suitable burn windows, it is likely that piles would be left on the ground for months or years before being burned. The Design Criteria incorporated into the Proposed Action were designed to lessen the extent of mortality or injury to animals, but complete avoidance for many wildlife species is not impossible.

II-3.4.8 General Impacts to Breeding Animals Disturbances prior to nesting/breeding season may result in temporary or permanent abandonment of areas and disruption of courtship behaviors resulting in failure to

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reproduce, or result in moving to adjacent areas and competing with other individuals for resources. Disturbance after nesting and breeding has begun may result in losses of the season’s reproduction if the animals abandon existing nests, eggs, and young. It is likely that if suitable habitat remains for the individual species they will recolonize the site after the disturbance has ceased. Nests may be destroyed during broadcast burning or hand treatment operations. Adult birds are likely to escape injury or death since they will fly at the beginning of the disturbance. However, eggs and nestlings will not be able to escape and could be destroyed, killed, or injured. California spotted owl and southwestern willow flycatcher LOP buffers (as incorporated into the project Design Criteria) would result in the exclusion of work during the breeding season in some of the Project Area, which will incidentally provide some benefits to other non-target species during the breeding season. Broadcast burning would most likely occur in early or late winter when soil moistures are high and temperatures are cooler. If burning occurs in late winter, fire activities may discourage some of the early-nesting birds from setting up breeding territories. It is possible that underburning operations could occur during early spring if conditions were conducive, but it isn’t likely. Some impacts to breeding behavior of wildlife species are expected as a result of this project. The project Design Criteria call for retention of trees with signs of wildlife and for protection of raptor nest sites, LOPs, and designation of RCAs. The Design Criteria would help keep the levels of impacts low but cannot ensure complete avoidance of impacts.

II-3.4.9 Potential Impacts to Snag-Dependent Species – Wildlife A number of wildlife, use snags for denning, foraging, and breeding sites (including raccoons, bats, flying squirrels, swallows, woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, brown creepers, owls, etc.). Some individual animals may be injured or killed during fuel reduction activities. By attempting to implement the project outside the migratory bird breeding season (March 15 to August 15) to the extent possible, impacts to nesting birds and other breeding animals can be largely avoided. Because it is highly unlikely that the project can be implemented completely outside of nesting season, some losses of or injuries to snag- dependent species are expected, especially of eggs and birds that are not capable of fleeing. Cavity-dwelling bats or those bat species that roost under peeling bark also have the potential to be affected by removal of snags due to prescribed burning. The disturbance is likely to cause bats to abandon the tree before it falls, thus most individuals would be able to avoid injury or death. Very young bats, unable to fly, may not be able to escape. Habitat for snag-dependent species may be reduced as a result of the proposed project. The removal of snags that pose a hazard to life/property will reduce the availability of nest sites for cavity-nesting birds and mammals and foraging sites for those species that forage on dead trees. However, snags will be retained per Forest Plan standards

Part II 50 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project and per the Design Criteria listed in Part I unless they pose a safety hazard. Snag- dependant species will seek alternate sites when snags are removed. There are abundant snags in adjacent areas outside of the Project Area that may be used as alternate habitat by snag-dependent species. The Design Criteria call for retaining a minimum of 10 to 15 hard snags per 5 acres [minimum 16 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) and 40 feet tall, or next larger available]. Exception allowed in Wildland-Urban-Interface Defense Zones Fuelbreaks and where they pose a safety hazard. Within RCAs, snags and downed logs are to be retained unless they are identified as a threat to life, property, or sustainability of the RCA. Furthermore, there are adjoining habitats that contain snags that may be available for dispersing animals. Therefore, impacts to snag-dependent species and snag habitat availability are expected to be limited to displacement and some limited losses of individuals.

II-3.4.10 Potential Impacts to Log-dependent, Fossorial, and Small Terrestrial Animals Some terrestrial species, such as salamanders, lizards, snakes, and fossorial (burrowing) rodents may be affected by ground-disturbing activities such as brush cutting, construction of control lines, broadcast burning, and pile burning. Some losses of individuals are expected and some alterations to wildlife habitat will occur during these activities. All vehicle use will be restricted to existing roads. Hand crews will avoid placing piles adjacent to larger trees, down logs, and rock outcrops, which will help limit potential impacts to wildlife species associated with downed and woody debris. Nevertheless, project activities could cause mortality or injury to individuals during implementation. If there is a delay in removal of piled materials, small animals may colonize debris piles. Upon removal of piled materials, small animals may be further disturbed as a result of loss of shelter. The Design Criteria require that, when possible, piles of brush will be removed and burned as soon as possible after piling in order to minimize colonization by wildlife. However, based on the history of past project implementation on this forest, some piles are left six years or more before treated. At that point, they are likely colonized by wildlife and mortality/injury is probable. The Design Criteria call for retaining a minimum of nine downed logs per acre (minimum 12 inches in diameter and 120 total linear feet) where they don’t pose an unacceptable buildup of fuels, and some logs may be lost during underburning operations. Because the entire Project Area is considered suitable habitat for the southern rubber boa, the rubber boa log retention standard (9 logs/acre) would apply. The retention of snags would provide for future recruitment of downed logs. However, treatments will continue (in the form of maintenance) on a rotational basis so impacts will reoccur and it is possible that LMP objectives in some of these areas will not be met because of their proximity to communities. Because of the abundance of logs across the forest, the continuing death of trees (due to drought, stress, and insects), and implementation of LMP log retention guidelines

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where possible, some minimal log habitats would continue to be provided within the project boundaries. The log retention guidelines and abundant numbers of dead trees are expected to continue to provide reasonably adequate habitat for those species that forage and shelter in and near logs. The Design Criteria require that activities avoid, to the extent possible, creating piles on and within 30 feet of rock outcrops and existing logs in rubber boa habitat. This Design Criteria incidentally benefits other log-dependant, fosorrial wildlife species. Where it is not feasible to avoid creating piles near these features in high quality rubber boa habitat, a biologist will coordinate with the project administrator to determine if additional protection measures are needed to reduce potential impacts. This will help reduce impacts to some downed logs and rock outcrops but some impacts will result since piling 30 feet away will not be possible in all situations. Design Criteria also call for protection of important logs during underburning operations, delineating and avoiding such areas as high quality rubber boa habitat. It should be kept in mind that the project will only be avoiding some features, not large amounts of rubber boa habitat. These measures should help reduce the potential for losses of individuals and protect some important log habitat. As such, impacts to log-dependent, fossorial, and small terrestrial species (e.g., mountain kings, ringneck snakes, and some other herps and small mammals) are expected to be limited to displacement and some losses of individuals. However, broadcast burning coupled with pile burning and maintenance over time will, likely, result in a reduction of habitat suitability for log- dependent, fossorial, and small terrestrial species in this area over the long-term.

II-3.4.11 Potential Impacts from Glyphosate Application In 2009, the Forest prepared the “Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife and Botany Reports, and MIS Evaluation for Spanish Broom Control along Evacuation Routes” (2009 Broom BA/BE). It evaluated the effects of direct application of an aquatically labeled glyphosate herbicide to cut Spanish broom stumps.

In addition, a “Site Specific Ecological Risk Assessment for the Application of Glyphosate Herbicide for Spanish Broom Control along Evacuation Routes” (Ecological Risk Assessment) was prepared. The Ecological Risk Assessment contains a detailed analysis of the risk to plants and animals from the use of herbicide based on toxicity data and exposure scenarios.

These two documents are incorporated by reference into this document. They are both available for review in the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project file located at the District Office. The 2009 Broom BA/BE concluded that there would be no effects to federally-listed wildlife species due to the application methods and project Design Criteria. It also concluded that no adverse impacts to Primary Constituent Elements (as identified for critical habitat) are expected due to the application methods and other project Design Criteria.

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Due to the application method and the Design Criteria incorporated in the project’s Proposed Action, the 2009 Broom BA/BE determined that the risk to Region 5 Forest Service Sensitive species was very low. Furthermore, the determination of effects for Sensitive species was “may affect individuals but will not lead toward a trend in federal listing”. Within the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project Area, the three locations proposed for treatment of Spanish broom are within 600’ of HWY 38 (see Figure 4). Proposed treatment areas total approximately 3 acres. Treatment of Spanish broom in these 3 acres would be conducted in accordance with the applicable project design and Design Criteria included in the 2009 Broom BA/BE (see Appendix D of this document).

Figure 4. Proposed Spanish Broom Treatment Areas

Although some of the proposed treatments are within a designated intermittent RCA, there are no perennial RCAs with Spanish broom. Suitable habitat possibly exists in the western tributary of Cold Creek for mountain yellow-legged frog (see Part IV-3.1.2). All Design Criteria developed for protection of this species will be incorporated including exclusion of all herbicide use within 100’ of the habitat (unless habitat is determined to

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be unsuitable for this frog during habitat suitability surveys in 2012). Hand-pulling of broom within 100’ of suitable habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog may occur if a biological monitor is present to ensure avoidance of impacts. There is no suitable habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher in any of the broom treatment areas. In an effort to streamline the analysis of project-related impacts to wildlife and as directed by the Deciding Official, the effects analysis contained within the 2009 Broom BA/BE is incorporated by reference into this document. All project design features and Design Criteria included in the 2009 Broom BA/BE are included in the Design Criteria for this project (see Appendix D). Species-specific impacts analysis for removal of the identified three acres of Spanish broom will not be addressed in this document. Refer to the 2009 Broom BA/BE for detailed discussions of potential impacts resulting from broom removal for the special status wildlife species included in this document. Application of an aquatically labeled glyphosate herbicide, according to project specifications in the 2009 Broom BA/BE, and use of the 2009 Broom BA/BE Design Criteria is expected to yield the same determinations as used in that document: no effect for TEPC wildlife species and may affect individuals but will not lead toward a trend in federal listing for Sensitive wildlife species.

II-3.4.12 Post-implementation Habitat Impacts and Disturbance – Wildlife Removal of vegetative barriers may allow unauthorized off-highway motorized vehicle use from roads and adjacent private property. Removal of natural barriers may result in currently inaccessible terrain becoming easily accessible. Increased use, especially by motorized vehicles, may result in further impacts, including increased erosion problems, increased levels of sediment deposition in drainages and riparian areas, increased noise disturbance to animals, losses of forest floor vegetation, and increased soil compaction. The Design Criteria includes a measure to help control those potential impacts. A combination of natural barriers (rocks, logs, etc.), screening, fencing, etc., may be used to prevent and/or discourage illegal vehicle activity during and after the project treatment. Field staff would monitor the area, and if and when problem areas arise, remedial and preventative actions would be taken as appropriate. Coordination with adjacent landowners, public education, and signage will be used as appropriate. These measures should help keep impacts at a non-significant level.

II-3.5 Impacts of No Action

II-3.5.1 Forest Stand Conditions – No Action Under the No Action alternative, no management actions would occur in the Project Area. According to the analysis as described in the Angelus Oaks Silviculture Report (2010), the direct effect of the area not being treated is that sprouting and growth of brush species will eventually create fuel conditions that will negate much of the recent fuel reduction work already completed in the Project Area. Strategic defensible firefighting zones would be reduced or compromised. The potential for stand-replacing

Part II 54 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project wildfire is increased, as is the potential for the associated loss of maintaining essential forest structure required by some wildlife species. Coniferous tree stocking levels will increase as trees grow and seedlings become established in the stands. Within 10 to 15 years’ time, brush sprouting and seedling regrowth will create conditions that exceed desired levels for meeting fire objectives.

II-3.5.2 Fire Behavior – No Action Under the No Action alternative, the baseline fire behavior and fire hazard conditions would remain the same (see Part II-3.3 and the Fuels and Fire Report). Vegetation treatments for fuelbreak maintenance or defensible space would not occur on National Forest System lands within the proposed Project Areas at this time. Wildfire is a natural occurrence in the Project Area and is expected to occur. If fuelbreak maintenance does not occur, there would be fewer opportunities to control the severity or magnitude of wildfires around the community of Angelus Oaks.

II-3.5.3 General Vegetation Effects – No Action [Direct effects will be covered in the Botany Biological Assessment/Biological Evaluation and indirect effects to wildlife species are covered in various sections of this report.]

II-3.5.4 Common Wildlife and Special-Status Wildlife Species – No Action If the area is left untreated, the wildlife species in the Project Area would experience lower levels of disturbance, both to individuals and to habitats important for foraging, movement, shelter, migration, wintering, and breeding than they would under the Proposed Action. If left untreated, the Project Area could potentially be at a higher risk of larger wildfires with more intense fire behavior. Moderate to high-severity fires would be expected to remove much of the overstory and understory (depending on weather and wind conditions). Patch sizes of burned areas may be large, but would be dependent on conditions at the time of the fire. The extent and degree of impacts vary within a landscape in any given fire. Generally, mosaic patterns occur with some habitat retention amid areas that burned at high severities. Even after fire, some species, such as early successional stage species like mule deer and predators, including some raptors, initially benefit from habitat changes resulting from fires. However, a future wildfire with higher resistance to control could result in direct wildlife mortality and increased impacts from intensive suppression efforts (e.g., dozer lines) to which rare wildlife species generally have lower resilience. Spanish broom infestation will continue and potentially expands over time throughout disturbed, and perhaps other, areas of the forest.

II-4.0 COMPLIANCE WITH MIGRATORY BIRD 2008 MOU

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Implementation of the Proposed Action may result in unintentional impacts to individual migratory birds. However, the project complies with the Migratory Bird Executive Order (January 11, 2001), because the analysis meets direction defined under the 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the USDA Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Specifically, this is because this project incorporated Design Criteria and conservation features as directed in the MOU. In late 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding between the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Promote the Conservation of Migratory Birds was signed. The intent of the MOU is to strengthen migratory bird conservation through enhanced collaboration and cooperation between the FS and the USFWS as well as other federal, state, tribal, and local governments. Within the National Forests, conservation of migratory birds focuses on providing a diversity of habitat conditions at multiple spatial scales and ensuring that bird conservation is addressed when planning for land management activities. The San Bernardino National Forest is proposing to manage lands on the Front Country Ranger District. Proposed management is intended to implement direction contained within the 2005 San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan. Opportunities to promote conservation of migratory birds and their habitats in the Project Area were considered during development and design of the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project. The Project Area is located within the greater Santa Ana River basin and surrounding the town of Angelus Oaks. Proposed treatment activities will consist primarily of hand treatments, pile burning, and prescribed fire to remove understory and some midstory shrub fields providing a mosaic of fuels, the removal of the accumulation of activity fuels from past and future treatments, and the removal of the natural accumulation of woody materials on the ground. The Proposed Action would also include maintenance activities to reduce ladder and surface fuels in order to reduce both the intensity and severity of potential wildfires. There is some limited riparian habitat within the proposed Project Area, and Design Criteria have been incorporated that minimize adverse impacts to riparian areas. Likely impacts to habitats and select migratory bird populations resulting from the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project have been assessed in detail within the project Wildlife Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report, and MIS Assessment. These impacts are summarized below: Nests within bushes may be impacted during burning, and hand removal activities. Disturbance during the nesting season may result in abandonment of nests resulting in losses of eggs and chicks. It is unlikely that adult birds would be killed or injured during the project. However, to the extent feasible, implementation and long-term maintenance will occur outside of the migratory bird breeding season (March 15 to August 15) so, proportional to the degree to which the breeding season can be avoided, impacts to nesting birds and active nest sites are expected to be minimal. Ongoing die-off of vegetation due to drought has already contributed to a change. Because of the mosaic

Part II 56 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project pattern of the die-off and subsequent proposed treatments, the fragmentation is not expected to be significant, nor is it expected to isolate populations or disrupt movement. Impacts to bird species that occur as a result of the project, especially from hand work and other activities conducted during the breeding season, are expected to include both disturbances and habitat modification. Habitat within the project boundaries may experience a small reduction of dead standing snags. Some mortality to live trees is likely during prescribed burning operations. However, there is substantial unmodified habitat surrounding the project footprint. The project may impact individual migratory landbirds and their habitat, but is not expected to adversely impact migratory landbird populations or their associated habitats on a large-scale level.

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PART III: BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF IMPACTS TO FOREST SERVICE SENSITIVE WILDLIFE SPECIES

III-1.0 SENSITIVE SPECIES BASELINE CONDITIONS AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS

Part I of this document contains descriptions of the methods/evaluation process, Proposed Action, and habitat for this project. Part II addresses general wildlife species, and impacts that are common to those species, as well as special status species that are discussed in depth in Parts III, IV, and V. This part, Part III, covers discussions of potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to wildlife on the Region 5 Forest Service Sensitive species list and their habitats. Part I-3.1contains Design Criteria that have been incorporated into the Proposed Action that applies to special status wildlife species and their habitats. See Part II-3.1 for an explanation of Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Effects. That section also contains discussions about present and foreseeable future projects that are considered in the Cumulative Effects discussions for each species.

III-1.1 Sensitive Animals – Baseline Conditions and Potential Impacts of Proposed Action Table 3 contains the current Region 5 Sensitive animal list. The species in Table 3 were all considered during this evaluation of potential effects for this project. A number of Sensitive wildlife species are known or are expected to occur within the Project Area. If outside the species’ known distribution or suitable habitat is not present (identified with an “N” or “U” in Table 3), such species will not be further addressed in this document. This is based on records from CNDDB, observations during surveys of the Project Area by biologists, incidental observations in the project vicinity, and historical occupancy data. There are no Federal Proposed or Candidate wildlife species. The summarized species descriptions below are from the detailed species accounts developed for the Forest Plan revision process found at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/read.htm. Refer to this website for further information and literature cited. Literature cited as contained in the LMP species accounts (and summarized in this document) are not included in the literature cited section of this document. These references are available hard copy in the 2005 LMP Revision project file located at the Cleveland National Forest Supervisor’s Office. See the existing environment described in Part II-2.0 and the effects analyses common to wildlife species/habitats in Part II-3.0. The following species and site-specific evaluations tier to those discussions. The “Project Area”, as used in this document, includes all the habitat within the project boundaries, directly adjacent habitats that have the potential to be affected by the

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Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project project, and habitats that are located downstream of the project boundaries that have the potential to be affected by the project.

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Table 4. San Bernardino National Forest Sensitive Animal Species (gray shading indicates potential occurrence in Project Area) Common Name Latin Name Front Occurrence in Habitat Type Country RD Project Area Santa Ana speckled dace Rhinicthys osculus ssp. Y N aq arroyo chub Gila orcutti P N aq partially armored threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus microcephalus H N aq large-blotched ensatina Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi Y P r, mc yellow-blotched ensatina Ensatina eschscholtzii croceater Y P r, mc San Gabriel Mountain slender salamander Batrachoseps gabrieli Y N southwestern pond turtle Actinemys marmorata pallida N N aq, r California legless lizard Aniella pulchra Y P c, d San Diego horned lizard Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillii Y Y w, d, wo southern rubber boa Charina bottae umbratica Y Y mc, c, r coastal rosy boa Lichanura trivirgata rosafusca Y P c San Bernardino ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus modestus Y Y c, g, rk, r San Diego ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus similis N N c, g, rk San Bernardino mountain kingsnake Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra Y Y mc, c, pj, r San Diego mountain kingsnake Lampropeltis zonata pulchra N N mc, r Two-striped garter snake Thamnophis hammondii Y P r, aq northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis Y N mc bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus U N a, aq, s, wo, r, m California spotted owl Strix occidentalis occidentalis Y Y mc American peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus anatus Y P a Willow flycatcher (migrant) Empidonax traillii Y P r San Diego cactus wren Campylorhynchus bruneicapillus sandiegense Y N d, c California leaf-nosed bat Macrotus californicus ? N d, wo (pj) Townsend’s big-eared bat Corynorhinus townsendii ? P mc, r, aq, wo, c, mines pallid bat Antrozous pallidus P P c, wo, mc, d, rk western red bat Lasiurus blossevillii ? P mc, r Los Angeles little pocket mouse Perognathus longimembris brevinasus U N c San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse Perognathus alticolus alticolus P P mc, wo San Bernardino flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus californicus Y Y mc, r Nelson’s bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni Y N wo, rk, d *Occurrence Information: **HABITAT TYPES/HABITAT COMPONENTS N = Outside known distribution/range of the species a = aerial; usually seen in flight, often over several habitat types and/or no suitable habitat exists. r = riparian (streamside thickets and woodlands) P = Occurrence of the species is possible; suitable g = grasslands, fields, and agricultural areas

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Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project habitat exists. m = marshes, meadows; both freshwater areas and moist meadows U = Occurrence of the species is unlikely based on wo = woodlands; pinyon-juniper, oaks habitat present. mc = mixed conifer forests; Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, big-cone Douglas fir, Coulter pine, sugar pine, white fir overstory Y = Species is known to occur. d = desert; Joshua tree woodlands, creosote bush scrub, blackbrush scrub aq = aquatic; lakes, reservoirs, ponds, vernal pools/puddles u = urbanized areas w = washes and alluvial fans rk = cliffs and rocky outcrops s = snags and cavities c = chaparral and coastal sage scrub

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III-1.1.1 California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) The California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is a Forest Service Sensitive species as well as a SBNF Management Indicator Species (MIS). The California spotted owl was petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. In February 2003, the USFWS determined that listing was not warranted at that time. In May 2004, the California spotted owl was again petitioned for listing. In June 2005, the USFWS released a finding that indicated there was substantial scientific evidence or information showing that listing may be warranted and they initiated a status review. In May 2006, the USFWS announced a 12-month finding on the petition that found that the petitioned action is not warranted. Existing Environment for California Spotted Owl The spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) occurs as a resident breeder in western North America from British Columbia south through Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwest Texas to central Mexico. The California spotted owl (S. o. occidentalis) occurs on the western side of the Sierra Nevada (and very locally on the eastern slope) from the vicinity of Burney, Shasta County south through the southern Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada to Kern County; in the southern part of the Coast Ranges from Monterey County to Santa Barbara County; and in the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges of southern California south to Baja California. In southern California, California spotted owls occur predominately on NFS lands in all of the major mountain ranges (although some ranges support very few pairs). They are found at elevations from below 1,000 feet along the Monterey coast to approximately 8,500 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains. Spotted owls in southern California occur in mountain and foothill areas in a network of geographically isolated subpopulations which are often separated by large areas of unsuitable habitat (Noon and McKelvey 1992, LaHaye et al. 1994). Spotted owl habitat, where owls have been observed, consists of four general but distinct forest types: riparian/hardwood forest, live oak/big-cone Douglas fir forest, mixed conifer forest, and redwood/California laurel forest (Verner et al. 1992). With the exception of redwood forest, which is limited in distribution to the Los Padres National Forest, these forest types generally occur on all four southern California National Forests (Forest Service 1994). The California spotted owl is strongly associated with forests that have a complex multi-layered structure, large-diameter trees, and high canopy closure (Bias and Gutiérrez 1992, Gutiérrez et al. 1995). However, some high- elevation territories (above 6,500 feet) consist solely of conifers, and some low- elevation territories (below 3,000 feet) are found in pure hardwood stands. Reproductive success and survivorship rates for individual members of the population may differ depending on which habitat type they occupy (Pulliam et al. 1992). While there is variation in the homogeneity of the habitattypes that spotted owls occupy, their habitat is consistently characterized by high structural complexity.

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California spotted owls are highly territorial and have large acreage requirements due to their wide-ranging foraging habits. Nesting and roosting areas are more restricted to areas with high canopy cover and high total live hardwood [e.g., canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepsis) and black oak (Quercus kelloggii)], softwood, and snag basal areas, and are often adjacent to cliffs, steep-sided wooded canyons, and shaded ravines (Garrett and Dunn 1981, Grinnell and Miller 1944). Foraging habitat is more variable in complexity and character attributes. Nest stands often have a well-developed hardwood understory [e.g., canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepsis) and black oak (Quercus kelloggii)] and a conifer overstory. California spotted owls nest in tree cavities or abandoned nests of other animals typically in areas of dense old-growth forest with more than 75 percent canopy closure (Bias and Gutiérrez 1992). Nest trees average 37 inches DBH and are typically more than 88 feet tall (Gutiérrez et al. 1992). Steger and Eberline (pers. comm., cited in Gutiérrez et al. 1992) found nest trees in foothill riparian/hardwood forests at lower elevations averaged 55 feet tall and 30 inches DBH. The minimum mean age of nest trees in the San Bernardino Mountains was 230 years (Gutiérrez et al. 1992). LaHaye et al. (1992) found that mean nest site cover and roost site cover were 76.9 percent and 83.6 percent, respectively. Nest sites at the highest elevations were in white fir forests in the San Bernardino Mountains, and no nests have been found in sub-alpine forests anywhere in California (Gutiérrez et al. 1992). Nest and roost sites in the San Bernardino Mountains tended to be on steep slopes (means of 51 percent and 55 percent, respectively) (LaHaye et al. 1992). Stick nests predominate in southern California (Gutiérrez et al. 1995) andnests are typically 30 to 180 feet above ground. Roost sites used by California spotted owls reported in various studies were similar in composition to those used for nesting, although less is known about roosting habitat than nesting habitat (Gutiérrez et al. 1992). Barrows (1980) found all of his roosting owls at low elevations on north-facing slopes, in dense-canopied stands. Attributes of foraging habitats used by California spotted owls have been estimated in two studies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Call 1990, Laymon 1988). Laymon (1988, cited in Gutiérrez et al. 1992) concluded that the majority of spotted owl foraging locations were on sites with medium to large trees greater than 24 inches DBH with canopy closure of 60 to 100 percent. He also reported that owls in his study selected “foraging sites with more and larger snags.” Call (1990, cited in Gutiérrez et al. 1992) found that spotted owls foraged in areas of large trees (20 to 35 inches DBH) significantly more than expected by a random distribution. The combined results from Laymon’s and Call's studies suggest that spotted owls in Sierran conifer forests tended to forage in stands of intermediate to older ages (Gutiérrez et al. 1992). These studies also found that percent canopy cover, softwood basal area, total live tree basal area, and the amount of large, downed woody debris were generally greater at foraging sites than at random locations. California spotted owls forage in a wider variety of forest types than where they roost and nest, including more open forests with canopy cover as low as 40 percent (Verner et al. 1992). As noted above, foraging habitat contains an estimated 7–17 square foot per acre snag basal area (Gutiérrez et al. 1992).

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California spotted owls are generally solitary except for interactions with their mates (Gutiérrez et al. 1995). The breeding season begins in early April and extends through early June. As is true of most owls, there is a strict division of duties: males provide food to the female and young, and females incubate eggs and brood the young. Clutch size ranges from one to three eggs (four-egg clutches are extremely rare), and incubation lasts for approximately 28 to 30 days. The owlets leave the nest at 34 to 36 days and are able to fly about a week later. The fledglings may continue to be fed by the parents for up to 3 months (Baicich and Harrison 1997, Zeiner et al. 1990). Studies conducted between 1986 and 1994 in the central Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains showed that 62 percent (n = 10–86) of pairs attempted to nest, and 50 percent (n = 10– 110) of all pairs checked fledged young. The mean number of young produced per pair was estimated to be 0.80 (n = 10–110) (Gutiérrez et al. 1995). In the San Bernardino Mountains, spotted owl productivity (mean number of young fledged per successful nest) was significantly higher in lower montane big-cone Douglas fir/canyon live oak forests than it was in high elevation montane conifer forests (LaHaye et al. 1997). These lower elevation habitats are believed to be productive because of high woodrat densities in the surrounding chaparral. They also tend to be below the snowline of most late winter/spring storms, which potentially reduces the impact of such weather events during the breeding season. Large, late-season storms have been shown to have a major effect on northern spotted owl reproductive success in northwestern California (Franklin et al. 2000) and appear to have a similar effect on California spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada (Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). Estimates of juvenile survival rates are relatively low (0.296), while those of adults are high (0.747), with no differences detected between sexes (Gutiérrez et al. 1995, Noon and McKelvey 1992). Young become independent by late summer and disperse from natal areas in September/October. Of 423 juvenile California spotted owls banded, none had returned to breed on their natal sites (LaHaye et al. 2001). LaHaye et al. (2001) also found mean dispersal distances of 6.2 miles for males and 7.3 miles for females in the San Bernardino Mountains. They apparently disperse in all directions through their first winter, and may remain in an area several weeks before establishing a territory. A young bird may also choose to stay in another territory (i.e., become a “floater”) until an individual of the resident pair (of the same gender as the floater) dies, allowing the floater to assume the new territory (Gutiérrez et al. 1995). California spotted owls show strong fidelity to breeding sites and winter home range (Gutiérrez et al. 1995). A pair may use the same breeding territory for five to ten years, but may not breed every year (Zeiner et al. 1990). An analysis by Lee and Irwin (2005) addresses the questions of short-term versus long- term risks, intensity of treatments, and cumulative effects. They modeled the effects of thinning treatments by assessing canopy cover and effects on owl occupancy and owl reproduction. Their analysis determined that habitat needs for owl reproduction can be incorporated by developing a fire and fuels management strategy that lessens the chances for uncharacteristic stand-replacing wildfire.

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See the MIS species account and the LMP species account for this species for more detailed information regarding life history, habitat conditions, and population trends on the SBNF and in the National Forest Southern Province. In 2004, the Forest Service finalized the “Conservation Strategy for California Spotted Owls in the National Forests on Southern California” that provides guidelines for management of spotted owls and their habitat. The strategy was incorporated into the LMP. Much of what is known about California spotted owls in southern California is based on a demography study conducted in the San Bernardino Mountains between 1987 and 1998 and subsequent monitoring between 2003 and present (LaHaye et al. 1992a, 1992b, 1994, LaHaye et al. 2001, LaHaye and Gutierrez 1988, LaHaye and Gutierrez in press, LaHaye et al. 1997, LaHaye 2003-2004, Tanner and Thelander 2005-2006, Tanner Environmental Services 2007-2010). In 2009, the SBNF completed an effort to re-map California spotted owl habitat using digital ortho-photo quadrangles (DOQQ) from 2002 as a “baseline” for spotted owl habitat. Previous mapping efforts of the territories were sporadic and were done by hand using aerial photos. The new mapping is much more accurate. The 2002 DOQQs were used for the recent mapping effort because they are the earliest digital photos available to us. They were taken at the beginning of a major drought cycle that resulted in substantial die-offs of conifer vegetation across the SBNF and prior to several large fires on the SBNF (e.g., Old/Grand Prix in 2003, Heart/Millard/Sawtooth complex in 2006; Butler/Slide/Grass Valley in 2007, etc.). Though these habitat maps do not represent a historical baseline, they provide the best tool currently available for assessing major changes to habitat conditions and they coincide with the Forest-wide spotted owl monitoring effort that began in 2003. Baseline Conditions for California Spotted Owl The “Risks and Management Concerns for the S. California Province” section of the MIS species account for spotted owls discusses in depth the past factors that have led to the existing baseline condition for this species as well as the factors that still pose a threat. That account also discusses the current understanding of population status and trends throughout the southern Province (Angeles, Los Padres, Cleveland, and San Bernardino National Forests). The primary threats to this population of California spotted owl include both natural and human caused habitat loss and degradation as well as human disturbance. While a report on California spotted owl population dynamics (Franklin et al. 2003) found the population trend data for the entire range of the California spotted owl to be inconclusive, and statistical trends did not indicate a decline in the overall California spotted owl population, they also concluded that concern may still be warranted for the San Bernardino population based on results of the analysis. The report identified a number of key points, including the following: that reproduction varied significantly from year to year and is likely attributable to annual fluctuations in weather and owl prey availability; that risk factors for California spotted owl populations revolve around four main points: 1) habitat abundance and distribution, 2) habitat quality, 3)influence of climate, and 4) wildfire; and finally they advised caution in managing spotted owl habitat

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until additional data are available. Since the publication of this report in 2003, the population of spotted owls on SBNF has experienced a continued documented decline which warrants an elevated level of concern for the viability of this population. Threats to the San Bernardino Mountain population of California spotted owls include habitat loss, habitat degradation, and disturbance. All of the recently and currently implemented fuels reduction projects on the SBNF have used similar avoidance/minimization measures and Design Criteria in an attempt to preserve important spotted owl habitat quality and limit disturbance during implementation. However, similar vegetation/fuels projects on private lands do not generally carry the same levels of spotted owl habitat protection and have likely resulted in disturbance to spotted owls, in both the short-term due to immediate disturbance and in long-term alterations of habitat. Some spotted owl habitat, including nest stands, on private lands has been treated over the past ten years, possibly to a degree that makes it unsuitable. In particular, fuels and salvage treatments have occurred in some territories (e.g., territories in the Forest Lawn Scout Reservation east of Lake Arrowhead, some territories south of Silverwood Lake, and a territory near Angelus Oaks). We do not have data or an assessment of those treatments and their impacts to those owls and their habitat. Of the many public and quasi-public agencies, the Forest Service offers the highest level of protection to the California spotted owl. Because the California spotted owl is not protected under the state Endangered Species Act, agencies such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Caltrans, Southern California Edison (SCE), and the California Department of Fire Protection (CalFire) do not afford it the same level of protection. Due to the non-listed status of the owl, other agencies and private entities are not compelled to avoid disturbance during nesting season or protect the habitat when working on non-NFS lands. Additionally, SCE and Caltrans have conducted hazard tree removal efforts on federal and non-federal lands to protect state highways and powerlines. These efforts increased substantially in 2003 and have continued due to continued mortality of trees. NRCS and Caltrans have partnered to remove hazard trees along the state highways. Due to the immediate need to protect public safety and maintain powerlines and roads to be free from falling trees, these agencies have often not had the flexibility of retaining high value spotted owl trees. Thus, some impacts to owl habitat have occurred by removal of snags and logs in those corridors. When removing hazard trees on the SBNF, NRCS, Caltrans, and SCE comply with the LOPs and other guidelines provided by the SBNF to protect owl habitat and nest stands in particular. However, even with the guidelines, some impacts occur on NFS lands. It is considered unlikely that removal of one or two trees would result in abandonment of a territory or markedly decrease the habitat value, unless they were the sole nest trees of the territory. Habitat for the California spotted owl has likely been affected by fire suppression efforts over the past hundred years. With the absence of natural low severity wildfire, stands have become denser and woody ground cover has increased, providing better habitat for flying squirrels, but decreased habitat for woodrats, both prey species. Decreased

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habitat for woodrats has primarily been in the reduction in understory shrub and herbaceous plants for food due to increasing canopy closure and reduced light at forest floor. Wildfire has been considered the primary risk factor to the California spotted owl, due to the buildup of fuels and changes in stand structure, which have increased the risk of high severity fires (Forest Service 2004, Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). Between 1999 and 2009, a total of 73 (out of 149) territories in the San Bernardino Mountains have been affected by wildfire. The degree and scale of fire effects varies by territory. In 2003 alone, wildfires affected 28 spotted owl territories and substantially reduced the overstory canopy in approximately 14 territories in the San Bernardino Mountains. Though a recent analysis concluded that wildfire, regardless of severity, does not appear to have directly caused territory abandonment in the San Bernardino Mountains since 1984 (see recent work by Forest Service Province Ecologist Mark Borchert discussed below), two territories burned by the 2007 Slide Fire appear to have been abandoned (SB003 - Crab Creek and SB014 – Fisherman’s Camp). There is some uncertainty about the trade-offs between treating owl habitat (and reducing the potential for loss to wildfire) and the effects of the treatment on owl occupancy and habitat quality. There is also some uncertainty about how different treatments or combinations of treatments affect risk of stand-replacing wildfire. To address these uncertainties, fuel management guidelines in the Conservation Strategy recommend limits to treatments. These include limiting treatments in PACs to no more than 5 percent of the PAC acreage in the mountain range per year and 25 percent of the mountain range PAC acreage per decade. The potential for loss of large patches of occupied habitat in a single, catastrophic fire event is the primary threat to California spotted owls that can be addressed through management. There is an unknown trade-off between treating owl habitat with the goal of reducing its susceptibility to stand-replacing fire versus the potential negative effects of treatments on California spotted owl occupancy and habitat quality. The conflict between fuels treatment and habitat protection was addressed by Prather et al. (2008), Lee and Irwin (2005) and Bond et al. (2009). It seems reasonable to hypothesize that light to moderate severity fires, similar to those likely to have occurred prior to the late 1800s, would not typically result in territory abandonment by spotted owls. Bond et al. (2002) evaluated the effects of wildfire on short-term spotted owl survival, site fidelity, mate fidelity, and reproductive success. Based on their results, they concluded that prescribed burning could be an effective tool in restoring habitat to natural conditions with minimal short-term impact on resident owls. LaHaye et al. (1997) noted the importance of oak/big-cone Douglas fir habitats in the San Bernardino Mountains. Stephenson and Calcarone 1999) noted that with increasing urbanization and increased human disturbance at the lower elevations, oak/big-cone Douglas fir habitats are threatened.

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Other threats to California spotted owls include decline in habitat quality due to firewood collecting (cutting of snags and logs) that may lower snag availability for nest sites and log cover for the prey base. While LMP snag and log retention standards are intended to help protect those habitat components, areas especially close to residential areas, high recreation use areas, and along forest roads are often deficient in terms of snag/log habitats. With the high levels of tree mortality all across the SBNF, due to bark beetle infestation and other factors, numbers of snags and logs is expected to increase, except in areas directly adjacent to residential and recreation developments where hazard trees are removed actively. Many owl territories, especially nest stands, are associated with drainages and riparian habitats. These drainages appear to be important for supporting high quality nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat as well as being assumed to provide movement corridors for foraging. Riparian drainages also provide a cooler, moister microhabitat believed to be important in the hot summer months. (Barrows 1981). Riparian and meadow habitat in the San Bernardino Mountains on federal and non-federal lands has been affected by development and water diversions and extractions over the years, reducing the amount and quality of this habitat type. As such, impacts to spotted owl populations likely have occurred due to reduction in habitat quality and quantity as as result of dewatering, especially during drought periods. Demands on water, and thus impacts to riparian/meadow habitat, will likely continue to increase with increasing human populations. In 2010, Forest Service Province Ecologist Mark Borchert started an analysis of SBNF spotted owl monitoring records (from 1987 to 2009) to determine if there are any relationships between changes in territory occupancy by pairs and various topographic, disturbance (fire, fuels activities, drought and insect-caused tree mortality), urbanization, vegetation and regional climatic variables. While the analysis is ongoing, we have some preliminary findings. The following graph shows that the number of active territories (i.e., those occupied by a pair in any of the last three years) has declined steadily since 1987 (Figure 5). During the early 1990s, pairs occupied 150–160+ territories but that number has declined to approximately 65 in 2009.

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Figure 5. Number of California Spotted Owl Active Territories (Occupied by Pairs) Over Time in the San Bernardino Mountains

Some notable results of the preliminary analysis are as follows: • There is no indication that territory occupancy by pairs (or abandonment) has been affected by fuels reduction projects regardless of treatment intensity; however, these analyses are very preliminary as most of the treatments are still in the implementation phase and were therefore not included in the analysis. • Wildfire, regardless of severity, did not appear to have directly caused territory abandonment (since 1984). • Active territories are consistently associated with core areas (500-acre circles around nest trees) having dense, multi-layered, closed canopies dominated by mid- and large-diameter conifers and/or hardwoods. This habitat type corresponds to published accounts of preferred habitat by this species in the San Bernardino Mountains and other parts of its range. • That the northern edge of the San Gorgonio Wilderness along Highway 38 which includes much for the project area along with the Cold Creek (SB016) and Santa Ana River (SB042) territories comprises one of the most productive spotted owl regions located in the San Bernardino Mountains.

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The analysis also considered the loss of spotted owl habitat due to urban and exurban development to better assess potential impacts of development, SBNF completed a review in 2010 of all developments in the San Bernardino Mountains approved by the County within the last 20 years. This review has shown that no developments of medium or large scale had occurred in spotted owl habitat. Data on individual lot developments are not available.

While it seems intuitive that wildfires in spotted owl habitat could result in dramatic changes to habitat quality and availability, it appears that the trend of increasing numbers of inactive territories may not be a result of wildfires, although high-severity, stand-altering fires have not affected large areas of mixed conifer forests at the higher elevations. Some biologists hypothesize that large-scale factors (such as climate change) or other factors (such as the health of prey populations) may be major contributors to owl population declines.

Territories in the Project Area: There are seven known spotted owl territories within the Project Area. A territory is considered to be habitat within 1.5 miles of a nest or centroid (assumed nest site) and is meant to represent the typical home range for this species. These seven territories are: SB016 (Cold Creek), SB042 (Santa Ana River), SB043 (Kilpecker), SB044 (Schneider), SB056 (Mountain Home Creek), SB077 (East Fork Mountain Home Creek), and SB118 (Constance Peak). SB016, SB042, SB043, and SB044 are to the north and east of the project area, SB056 and SB077 are to the south of the project area, and SB118 is directly to the west of the Project Area.

Of the seven territories, four territories have PACs, HRC habitat, and/or NS habitat overlapping the project boundaries (SB016, SB042, SB056, and SB118). Two territories (SB016 and SB042) have PACs within the project boundaries. Three territories have mapped HRC habitat overlapping the project boundaries (SB042, SB056, and SB118). One territory has mapped NS habitat in the project footprint (SB016). Only three of these four territories have known nest trees mapped (SB016, SB042 and SB056), while SB118 has a presumed nest site (centroid) mapped.

Within each territory, the best habitat has been mapped for special management, based on direction in the Conservation Strategy. Protected Activity Centers (PACs) are mapped based on the best 300 acres of habitat; Home Range Cores (HRCs) include the next best 300 acres. The best 40-60 acres around the nest tree(s) is mapped as Nest Stand (NS); the NS is a subset of the PAC. Map B-1 (Appendix B) displays mapped habitat for California spotted owls in the area of the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project.

In the early 1990s, several individual spotted owls were equipped with radios and their movements tracked through radio-telemetry. The roost and foraging sites identified in the telemetry effort were used in the mapping of suitable habitat (as well as for the mapping of PACs and HRCs of the known territories in the project area). In addition to mapped habitat (NS, PAC, and HRC) associated with known territories, there is some areas of habitat, appropriate for use by spotted owl, that has been

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mapped by the SBNF as Suitable Habitat Areas (SHA). SHA may or may not be within a territory (1.5 mile radius of a nest or centroid) but are not included as part of the mapped habitat (NS, PAC, or HRC). Mapped SHA within a territory is in excess of the approximately 600 acres mapped as PAC and HRC. No mapped SHAs are known to be used for nesting (in spite of surveys conducted during the demography study period; although recent survey work has not focused on these areas). Within the project boundaries, there are approximately 126.3 acres of mapped SHA that are not part of mapped habitat (NS, PAC, or HRC). These Suitable Habitat Areas are thought to be very important for dispersal and movement.

Occupancy and Reproduction Trends in the Project Area: Spotted owl territories on the SBNF are monitored following the Region 5 protocol for spotted owls (USFS 1993). Four territories have mapped habitat (NS, PAC, and/or HRC) that overlaps the project boundaries (SB016, SB042, SB056, and SB118).

a) SB016 –Cold Creek: The Cold Creek Territory (SB016) has been occupied 22 out of 22 years of surveys. It has been monitored following protocol survey methods (1987 through 2010, however no surveys were performed in 2001 or 2002). Out of the 22 years it was surveyed and occupied, a pair was present 20 years. Out of the 20 years it was occupied by a pair, young were fledged 13 times (65%), with a total of 22 chicks (1.7 chicks /successful nesting). This territory has continued to be very active and has been occupied the past eight years it has been surveyed (2003 through 2010). It is currently occupied by a nesting pair (in 2011).

b) SB042 –Santa Ana River: The Santa Ana River Territory (SB042) has been occupied 11 out of 19 times that it has been surveyed to protocol (between 1987 and 2011; no results available for 1997, 1999, or 2000 and no surveys conducted in 2005). In each of those 11 years, it was occupied by a pair of owls. During those 11 years young were fledged three times (27%) with a total of four chicks (1.3 chicks /successful nesting). This territory has not been occupied since 2003 although it was not surveyed in 2005.

c) SB056 – Mountain Home Creek: The Mountain Home Creek Territory (SB056) has been occupied 16 of 17 years it was surveyed (1989 through 2010; no results available for 1990 and no surveys conducted from 1999-2002). For 15 of the 16 years it was occupied, a pair was present. During those 15 years, young were fledged six times (40%) with a total of 10 chicks (1.6 chicks /successful nesting). This territory has been active for the past eight years it has been surveyed, from 2003 through 2010, and is currently occupied by a nesting pair (in 2011).

d) SB118 –Constance Peak: The Constance Peak Territory (SB118) has been occupied three out of 14 years it was monitored following protocol survey methods (between 1991 and 2010; no results are available for 1997 and it was not surveyed from 1999 to 2003). A pair was present for each of those three years (1995, 1996, and 1998). Out of the three years SB118 was known to be occupied by a pair, young were fledged one time (33%) with a total of one chick (1 chick /successful nesting). This territory has been

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inactive for the past six years it has been surveyed, from 2004 through 2010. The occupancy status for this territory has been confirmed vacant for 2011.

e) Suitable Habitat Areas: Systematic surveys of this area of SHAs were conducted in the early 1990s as part of the demography study. Since then, mapped SHAs have been partially surveyed when monitoring has occurred in the other territories within the Project Area. During this time no new territories have been identified in SHAs; however, spotted owls are known to use these areas for foraging and roosting.

f) Summary of Project Area Territory Occupancy and Reproduction: Of the four spotted owl territories with mapped habitat within the project boundaries, only two were occupied (by pairs) from 2006 through 2010. Using the definition that “active” territories are those that have been occupied at least one year in the preceding three years, then there are only two “active” territories in the Project Area: Cold Creek (SB016) and Mountain Home Creek (SB056). Of these territories, only Cold Creek has mapped NS habitat within the project boundaries.

Fledgling production for these two “active” territories totaled one in 2010, one in 2009, two in 2008, three in 2007, and four in 2006.

Potential Impacts of the Proposed Action - California Spotted Owl The Proposed Action includes a number of Design Criteria that were developed in order to minimize impacts to spotted owls and their habitat. The following analysis of effects is based on the assumption that the Design Criteria would be implemented. See the Part I-3.0 for a description of the proposed treatments and the Design Criteria that would help reduce direct and indirect impacts to spotted owls and their habitat.

This part of the evaluation is divided into several discussions: a) summary of proposed treatments in spotted owl habitat; b) general non-habitat impacts that are common to all territories; and c) habitat impacts in all spotted owl habitat in the Project Area. Note: NSs are a subset of PACs. In the following discussions, acreages displayed for PACs also contain the acres for Nest Stands (unless otherwise stated). a) Summary of Proposed Treatments in Spotted Owl Habitat – Proposed Action The numbers in the following discussion were generated using a GIS analysis of the spatial data for spotted owl habitat. The following sections describe the types and scale of potential impacts.

As mentioned above, three territories do not have habitat (NS, PAC or HRC) that overlaps the project boundaries: SB043, SB044, and SB077. Again, for management purposes a territory is considered to be the area in a circle with a 1.5 mile radius centered on a nest tree or centroid. Because the closest of the mapped habitat of these territories is a third of a mile away from the project site, no impacts to these territories’ suitable spotted owl habitat are expected from this project.

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One territory, SB056, has mapped NS within the project boundaries. Per Design Criteria, no NS habitat will be treated. The mapped NS for SB056 will be shown as a “No Treatment Zone” on project implementation maps. Project implementation will not have any impacts to mapped NS habitat.

There are four territories in the Project Area with some treatment proposed in PAC or HRC habitat: SB016, SB042, SB056, and SB118. Additionally, treatments are proposed in areas with mapped SHA. SHAs support habitat qualities that make it suitable for foraging and/or nesting. Table 5 displays a summary of the treatments proposed in those four territories and SHAs. The discussion of habitat impacts focuses on these four territories’ mapped habitat and the SHAs.

Table 5. Summary of Treatments Proposed for Spotted Owl Territories with Mapped Habitat in the Project Area

Territory Habitat Acres Defense Threat Total Total Total Total % of Number Type Outside Zone Zone Treated Treated Acres Acres Mapped Project Acres Acres Acres Acres (NS (non- Habitat Boundaries (300' (beyond (non- (NS only) NS) Treated (No private 300' NS) only) Treatment) land buffer) buffer) n/a SHA* n/a 45.1 81.2 126.3 126.3 n/a SB016 NS 60.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 60.8 0.0% (Cold HRC 184.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 184.7 0.0% Creek) PAC 426.3 9.4 58.2 67.6 493.9 13.7% Total 611.0 9.4 58.2 67.6 678.6 10.0% HRC&PAC

SB042 NS 63.6 0.0 63.6 0.0% (Santa Ana HRC 186.1 4.3 67.0 71.3 257.4 27.7% River) PAC 333.8 0.0 7.4 7.4 341.2 2.2% Total 519.9 4.3 74.4 78.7 598.6 13.1% HRC&PAC

SB056 NS** 65.5 0.0 65.5 0.0% (Mountain HRC 288.9 0.4 6.6 7.0 295.9 2.4% Home Creek) PAC 313.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 313.0 0.0% Total 601.9 0.4 6.6 7.0 608.9 1.1% HRC&PAC

SB118 NS 60.8 0.0 60.8 0.0% (Constance HRC 174.3 9.4 86.7 96.1 270.4 35.5% Peak) PAC 307.3 0.0 0.5 0.5 307.8 0.2% Total 481.6 9.4 87.2 96.6 578.2 16.7% HRC&PAC

Total for SHA* 0.0 45.1 81.2 126.3 126.3 100.0% Total for NS 250.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 250.7 0.0 Total for HRC 834.0 14.1 160.3 174.5 1008.5 17.3

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Total for PAC 1380.4 9.4 66.2 75.5 1455.9 5.2 Total HRC & PAC 2214.4 23.5 226.5 250.0 2464.4 10.1 Grand Total PAC& HRC 2214.4 68.6 307.7 376.3 2590.7 14.5 & Suitable * * SHA outside of project boundaries was not calculated. **Mapped NS within the project boundaries will not be treated per project Design Criteria. b) General Non-Habitat Impacts that are Common to all Territories – Proposed Action Mortality: There is a very small risk of mortality of or injury to adult or juvenile California spotted owls if they are in roost or nest trees when hazard tree felling occurs or if trees torch incidentally during prescribed burning operations. Tree felling would only occur if a hazard tree posed an un-mitigatable safety risk. During prescribed burning, it is anticipated that spotted owls in the area will move to a disturbance-free area during prescribed burning. Direct impacts do not seem very likely for adults since they would probably abandon the site prior to tree felling and burning operations; direct losses would be more likely for unfledged or recently fledged juveniles if unknown nest sites exist. However, no treatment in mapped nest stands will occur as part of this project. LOPs are also expected to eliminate the potential for death or injury of juveniles or nests by avoidance of those areas until after fledging.

Disturbance: Potential negative impacts to the California spotted owl from this project include noise disturbance from crews, chainsaws, and prescribed fire. Noise may cause disruption of courtship and nesting behavior or abandonment of nest sites if conducted during the nesting season. The LOP will limit the likelihood of disturbance to individuals during the nesting season (February 1 through August 15). Individual spotted owls that are present during the breeding season include owls establishing territories and nests, breeding pairs, nestlings, and fledglings. The LOP is based on a ¼-mile LOP buffer around known nest trees (or may be around the NS where the nest tree locations are not known). The only LOP present that will affect project implementation is around SB118. The other three territories within the Project Area have nest sites/centroids well outside of the project boundaries.

Based on the number and timing of surveys needed to determine that the territory is unoccupied, the LOP around SB118 may be lifted as early as mid-July in territories that are determined to be vacant. However, surveys for spotted owls are funding- dependent and may not be conducted on a consistent basis. Where surveys are not conducted, occupancy will be assumed and a LOP will be in place throughout the entire breeding season (February 1 through August 15).

Where a pair has established a new nest tree that has not been detected by surveyors, the LOP buffer may not be centered on the right area. Under that circumstance, individuals may be disturbed by noise and project activities, and direct losses may occur or nesting activities may be interrupted and/or abandoned. We believe that this risk is relatively low and that the ¼-mile buffer allows some insurance since the noise levels of many of the project activities do not actually result in significantly higher decibel levels that carry across the landscape. However, this small risk does exist.

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A limitation on night operations will prevent project operations from disturbing owls during important foraging and breeding activities. An exception is included in the Design Criteria to allow mop-up and/or patrols at night if necessary. The presence of people in the Project Area at night will not occur within ¼ mile of nesting locations due to the LOP except for territory SB118 – see below) and is therefore not expected to adversely affect breeding activities.

An exception to the LOP to protect breeding activities is to conduct burning operations, if necessary, within the ¼ mile buffer of territory SB118 as long as prep work is completed outside of the breeding season and burning operations occur by hand and no chainsaws are used. Per project Design Criteria, all burning will be conducted within air quality regulations via a permit. This Design Criteria effectively limits the amount of fuels burned in one day and restricts burning opportunities when air is stagnant. Furthermore, the mapped NS for SB118 is separated from the project site by a ridge. Due to topography and typical wind patterns (southwesterly), very little, if any, smoke is expected to blow into the NS for SB118.

Smoke from burning operations may drift into nesting habitat for SB042 and SB016 during the nesting season, most likely early in the breeding season due to timing of burn windows. Design Criteria for protection of air quality will limit impacts somewhat. By the time it reaches nesting spotted owls, it is expected to be mostly dissipated, if it reaches nest locations at all. In addition, because of the close proximity to the community of Angelus Oaks, spotted owls are likely accustomed to encountering smoke from the fireplaces of residents.

The LOP is designed to limit disturbance that would interrupt breeding efforts. Presence of crew members, noise, and smoke from burn operations which are conducted in spotted owl habitat will disturb spotted owls present outside of the breeding season. Disturbance effects for spotted owls outside of breeding season primarily include alteration of habitat use (avoidance or abandonment of an area). While individuals may be disturbed during non-breeding, it is expected that they could and would temporarily move to another portion of the territory or into nearby suitable habitat. It is important that there are portions of each territory that are not being treated at any given time so that owls have areas to roost and forage free of disturbance. Due to funding availability for project implementation and short duration of burn windows, it is highly likely that the proposed project will be implemented in small portions, not all at once. Therefore, areas for roosting and foraging which are free of disturbance are expected to be readily available.

Use of existing FS roads and trails through owl habitat is not subject to the LOPs; thus, there is also some potential for disturbance due to increased levels of traffic during implementation. However, implementation of the project is only expected to result in a very slight increase in traffic. Because of high pre-existing levels of pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the Project Area, owls in this area may already be accustomed to ongoing low levels of disturbance.

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Disturbance Duration Effects: The level of disturbance and potential to cause territory abandonment may depend on the duration of activities in each territory. Because some areas have several activities planned (e.g., understory thinning, pile burning, etc.), some sites may have activities spread out over a period of 2–3 years before all of the operations would be completed. It should also be noted that reentry into these areas will likely occur for maintenance operations every 5 to 10 years. Although owls are likely to acclimate gradually to these conditions and often habituate to low level disturbance, repeated entries and long-term disturbance is more likely to cause abandonment of a territory than a single short-term disturbance. As such, it is beneficial to complete fuels reduction efforts in as short a period as feasible especially within PACs. The Proposed Action includes Design Criteria intended to reduce disturbance impacts and reduce the risk of direct impacts.

Four territories, SB016, SB042, SB056, and SB118, have mapped habitat in the planned treatment area: 67.6 acres for SB016, 78.7 acres for SB042, 7.0 acres for SB056, and 96.6 acres for SB118. The duration of effects for these territories should be relatively short due to the small treatment acreage. Project activities (primarily prescribed burn) are of relatively short duration. Repeated entries for maintenance will also be relatively quick and affect only a small amount of acres.

Prey Availability: In southern California, woodrats are the primary prey species taken by California spotted owls. Other small mammals, including mice and voles, birds, and invertebrates make up the rest of the diet (Gutiérrez et al. 1995). In the San Bernardino Mountains study between 1987 and 1991, dusky-footed woodrats and Jerusalem crickets were the most frequently consumed taxa (42.2 percent and 20.7 percent respectively). Dusky-footed woodrats dominated spotted owl diets by biomass (74 percent). Pocket gophers and peromyscid mice comprised 10.4 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Flying squirrels only contributed 3 percent of the biomass. Spotted owls consumed primarily mammals by frequency (66.4 percent) and biomass (95.3 percent). Successful nesters consumed a greater percent biomass of woodrats than non-nesters (Smith et al. 1999).

Woodrats are found at higher densities in unburned forests with a good shrub understory. Woodrats do not survive fire well, especially very hot burns, and they are slow to re-colonize burned areas (Wirtz et al. 1988, cited in Williams et al. 1992, Bond et al. 2009). The planned underburning in spotted owl habitat could affect cover and forage for woodrats. Design Criteria require retention of woodrat nest whenever possible, especially in and adjacent to spotted owl habitat. Fuels will be cleared prior to burning if necessary to protect them.

Studies in northwest California found that dusky-footed woodrat densities were highest in sapling/brush/pole timber stands, followed by seedling/shrub and large old growth stands (Sakai and Noon 1993). This is most likely due to the lack of understory vegetation for food. They were found to be associated with hardwood shrub cover. They also found that woodrats moved between the shrublands into adjacent old-growth forest habitat occupied by spotted owls, but did not permanently emigrate into the forested

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stands. Their radio-tracking study also found that woodrats crossed distinct ecotonal boundaries, including between shrublands, forest habitat, and openings in forest or shrub habitat.

The proposed treatment activities (including prescribed burning) would result in disturbance to the forest floor and shrub layer, which in turn would likely affect habitat of the primary prey species, the dusky-footed woodrat. Design Criteria that would protect existing woodrat nests and retain some downed logs and brush piles would help reduce those potential effects. Nonetheless, some individuals and habitat of woodrats and other prey species would likely be lost. However, in the longer-term, opening of some stands may also increase some rodent populations after the treatment.

Construction of control line would substantially degrade small strips of woodrat habitat during removal of ground vegetation. Some brush piles may be left within the owl habitat areas as habitat for woodrats and other prey species. Sakai and Noon’s findings (1993) that woodrats crossed openings suggest that control lines such as these may not represent movement barriers to woodrats.

In summary, prey availability and distribution in spotted owl habitat is expected to be negatively affected in the understory burn areas. As noted above, such treatment activities may enhance habitat for woodrat and other prey species by stimulating shrub growth and opening some of the stands. However, it is likely that future maintenance projects similar to this one may lead to a long-term local decline in prey abundance for the spotted owl. It is also possible that spotted owl prey species will flourish between maintenance treatments.

Fire Behavior: See Part II-3.3 for the discussion of fire behavior for the Proposed Action.

c) Habitat Impacts in all Spotted Owl Habitat in the Project Area – Proposed Action See Table 5 above for California spotted owl habitat within the project boundaries split out by treatment type (Defense Zone or Threat Zone). Per project Design Criteria, mapped NS habitat will not be treated as part of this project. Changes to nesting habitat are not anticipated as a result of this project.

Potential impacts include the loss or degradation of foraging and roosting habitat from fuels reduction treatments. Studies have shown that percent canopy cover, softwood basal area, total live tree basal area, and the amount of large, downed woody debris were generally greater at foraging, nesting, and roosting sites for spotted owls than at random locations (Gutiérrez et al. 1992). See the previous discussion for potential impacts to prey habitat.

In many parts of the Project Area, tree mortality and activities from the 2004 Community Protection project has caused substantial reduction in canopy cover. Treatments that further open up the canopy may further reduce habitat suitability for foraging, roosting, and nesting. Fuels reduction treatments may affect these stand characteristics to different degrees (depending on treatment intensity).

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The Proposed Action is to use prescribed fire and limited hand treatments to maintain the established fuelbreak around the community of Angelus Oaks. This project will maintain an open forest canopy (overstory) both in conifers and hardwoods. Prescriptions will be written to limit mortality of trees to approximately 10 percent during prescribed burn treatment activities. The understory will be composed of scattered shrub islands, small understory trees, and herbaceous plants. Surface and ladder fuels will be reduced to minimize the potential for crowning, torching, and intense fire behavior. Burn piles will be created from materials cut during thinning and pruning (Project Fire and Fuels Report, Geomorphis 2011).

Some changes to habitat would be expected where treatments remove hazardous dead trees, cause mortality to live trees, and/or remove understory vegetation. Dead trees, once the needles are lost, contribute very little to the canopy closure. Where there has been a high level of mortality, habitat would become more open. Removal of the dead trees would not increase that – it is occurring as a natural result of the mortality. Where a live tree represents a safety hazard, it may be felled, and the immediate area would become more open. Snag retention Design Criteria would help limit changes to snag components in spotted owl habitat.

Per the project Proposed Action, the intent of the project is to maintain, not further reduce the overstory both in conifers and hardwoods. However, it is possible that some mortality of live trees may occur during prescribed burning operations. Removal of live trees can cause changes in habitat compositions and structure by opening the canopy, changing the stand structure, microclimate, shading, moisture levels, and may reduce habitat components (like cover and forage) that may affect prey species. The suitability for spotted owl foraging and roosting habitat may be reduced in quality. Project Design Criteria have been incorporated to limit mortality of trees to about 10%. Furthermore, Design Criteria that reduce the possibility of torching include pruning of trees up to 10 feet or to a 50% stem-to-crown ration and placement of slash piles away from living trees to avoid torching. Within spotted owl mapped PACs and HRCs, another Design Criteria calls for retention and protection of the largest trees within the treatment area, including all live trees greater than 24 inches DBH, unless exceptions are needed for operability.

To break up the vegetative continuity and reduce the risk of high intensity fires, shrubs will be reduced to no more than 20 percent in the Defense Zone and 20 to 40 percent in the Threat Zone. There are 23.5 acres of PAC and HRC in Defense Zones and 226.5 acres of PAC and HRC in Threat Zones. Removal of understory vegetation may result in a healthier, less dense stand, more capable of resisting drought, insects and disease, and increased growth of remaining stems. Because treated areas would lack heavy understory, it would not be ideal habitat for woodrats and other spotted owl prey species. Loss of roost and perch sites, especially in midstory vegetation within Defense Zones, is likely to occur. The openness may also affect microclimates in adjacent spotted owl habitat. Under the Threat Zone guidelines, the midstory canopy closure in PACs (total of 66.2 acres) would be retained at current levels and within HRCs the

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midstory canopy closure would be a minimum of 50%, except where reduction is needed to bring fire to the ground. Defense Zone treatments are narrow and linear by design. Because of the narrow linear nature of these treatments, fragmentation of suitable habitat would occur in a way that would adversely affect owls would not be expected in most cases.

An analysis by Lee and Irwin (2005) addresses the questions of short-term versus long- term risks, intensity of treatments, and cumulative effects. They modeled the effects of thinning treatments by assessing canopy cover and effects on owl occupancy and owl reproduction. Their analysis determined that habitat needs for owl reproduction can be incorporated by developing a fire and fuels management strategy that lessens the chances for uncharacteristic stand-replacing wildfire. The removal of dead and dying trees will decrease the sites’ potential for stand-replacing wildfire. Thus, effects of the project also include protection of spotted owl habitat by reducing the potential for uncharacteristic stand-replacing wildfire.

Design Criteria protect mapped suitable spotted owl habitat, including retention of large live and dead trees, retention of existing midstory canopy cover within Threat Zone, minimum requirements for midstory canopy cover in Defense Zones, and downed log retention standards. No Nest Stand habitat is proposed for treatment. Although habitat within the project boundaries will change as a result of this project activities (only 10.1% of mapped PAC and HRC is to be treated), the majority of the mapped spotted owl habitat will not be directly affected by treatments. There will be substantial un-modified habitat left for spotted owls to continue to nest, roost, and forage. Within PACs and HRCs, Defense Zone Treatments will likely maintain conditions that are not conducive to nesting, but would remain suitable for foraging and possibly roosting. It is expected that PAC and HRC habitat within Threat Zones would remain suitable for nesting, roosting, and foraging. Mapped Suitable Habitat Areas (SHA) would remain suitable for foraging.

Summary of Potential Impacts to Spotted Owls: For the combined on spaces four spotted owl territories in the project area, approximately 4.9 percent of mapped PAC (70.7 acres), 17.3 percent of mapped HRC (174.5 acres), and a total of 126.3 acres of mapped SHA are included in the treatment area.

The treatments in spotted owl habitat are designed to mostly retain habitat quality in terms of multi-storied stands, tree species diversity (including hardwoods), existing canopy closure, snags, and downed woody material. Mid-story, however, would be reduced during Defense Zone treatments in PACs and HRCs (total of 9.4 acres). Though this project will likely not result in any currently suitable spotted owl habitat becoming unsuitable, it will by design maintain and/or create more open, less complex habitat which is less suitable for spotted owl prey and therefore foraging. Furthermore, the openness will be maintained through periodic maintenance activities. Additional fragmentation of the spotted owl habitat across the landscape is not expected. The project may improve the ability of the forest to handle future wildfire. Design Criteria also provide measures that would help reduce the level of disturbance to spotted owls.

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Careful implementation planning and coordination would help ensure that the impacts would be as low as feasible while implementing treatments.

Based on the Design Criteria, this project is expected to be neutral relative to spotted owls in terms of habitat availability and protection of important habitat components at the population level. However, it will likely have a slight negative impact on the territories with habitat in the Project Area. Longer-term monitoring would be needed to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments at reducing fire severity, the effects of treatments on prey populations (particularly woodrats), and the effects of treatments on maintaining suitability and occupancy of the territories impacted by the treatment. See Part I-4.0 for management and monitoring recommendations.

Cumulative Effects for California Spotted Owls: See Parts II-3.1.3.2 and II-3.1.3.3 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. The cumulative effects analysis area for this species is the San Bernardino mountain range. There are 181 known territories on the SBNF; of those, 149 are in the San Bernardino Mountains (plus 10 in the San Gabriel Mountains and 22 in the San Jacinto Mountains).

There are several fuels reduction projects currently being implemented in the San Bernardino Mountains in spotted owl habitat. These include Miller Canyon Fuels Reduction, Santa Ana Fuelbreak, Oak Glen/Banning Fuels Reduction, Santa Ana Landscape Fuels Reduction, and Bluff Mesa Fuels Reduction Project projects. Due to limited funding, it is unknown when foreseeable future projects will be implemented. All of these projects have similar Design Criteria to the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project in terms of spotted owl habitat protection. Thus, the level of protection of key habitat components and habitat availability, and the effort to minimize disturbance, will be similar.

In the foreseeable future, removal of dead trees that pose a threat to life and property will continue along Forest Service roads, boundaries, and at developed sites (e.g., special use permitted sites, administrative sites, recreation sites, etc.).

While projects on NFS lands attempt to protect spotted owls and their habitats, the same is probably not true for activities on non-federal land. Similar vegetation/fuels projects on private lands do not generally carry the same levels of spotted owl protection as those on the SBNF and have likely resulted in greater disturbance to this species, by short-term and, potentially, long-term alterations of habitat. The level of impacts and habitat alteration/losses is unknown and likely varies by land ownership.

In summary, with the SBNF standards for protecting this species and its habitat as well as the Design Criteria included in this project to protect spotted owls and their mapped habitats, this project is not expected to add noticeably to the reasonably foreseeable impacts to this species in the San Bernardino Mountains.

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III-1.1.2 American Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Existing Environment for Peregrine Falcon: Peregrine falcons occur on all four southern California National Forests. The species, though rare, is widely distributed across southern and central California, usually near the coast or in other areas where migrant waterfowl or shorebirds are concentrated (e.g., inland reservoirs) (Garrett and Dunn 1981), although they are known to travel great distances from their nest sites during foraging. Because much of the National Forest System lands in southern California lack the water bodies where preferred prey concentrate, these lands are not considered high-quality habitat for peregrine falcon. Peregrine falcons are more common on portions of the Los Padres National Forest that are relatively close to coastal wetlands (i.e., the northern and southern Santa Lucia Ranges and the Santa Ynez Mountains) (Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). In the 1980s, a number of peregrine falcon reintroductions were attempted on National Forest System lands in southern California. Most of these birds, however, did not remain in the vicinity of release sites (Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). American peregrine falcons nest almost exclusively on protected ledges of high cliffs, primarily in woodland, forest, and coastal habitats (California Department of Fish and Game 1980, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1982). A very small number of nests have been found on small outcrops and in trees, and a number of reintroduced pairs and their offspring nest on tall buildings, bridges, and other man-made structures. Cliffs that provide ledges, potholes, or small caves (usually with an overhang), that are relatively inaccessible to mammalian predators, are required components of nesting habitat. Nest sites usually provide a panoramic view of open country, are near water, and are associated with a local abundance of passerine, waterfowl, or shorebird prey (Johnsgard 1990). Peregrine falcons prefer to nest near marshes, lakes, and rivers that support an abundance of birds, but they travel several miles from their nest sites to forage on pigeons, shorebirds, waterfowl, and songbirds (CDFG 1980, Grinnell and Miller 1944). Coastal and inland marsh habitats are especially important to peregrine falcons in fall and winter because they attract large concentrations of waterbirds (CDFG 1980). Peregrine falcons have been known to nest at elevations as high as 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), but most occupied nest sites are below 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) (Shimamoto and Airola 1981). Peregrine falcons are known to nest at nearby Keller Cliffs nearby (D. Goodward; K. Meyer, pers. obs.). However, there is no suitable nesting habitat for peregrine falcons in the Project Area. Possible foraging habitat does exist though no falcons have been recorded in the Project Area. Baseline Conditions for Peregrine Falcon: The widespread use of organochlorine pesticides, especially DDT, was a primary cause of the decline in peregrine falcon populations (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1982). High levels of these pesticides and their metabolites (i.e., byproducts of organic decompositions) have been found in the tissues of peregrine falcons, and the cause-and-effect relationship between these chemicals and thin eggshells and reproductive failure has been demonstrated (Lincer 1975). Other causes of decline included illegal shooting, illegal falconry activities, and habitat destruction (CDFG 1980) as well as impacts from climbers and other

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recreational activities. National Forest System lands in southern California do not support a large amount of high-quality habitat for American peregrine falcon. Protecting cliff-nesting sites from human disturbance has been identified as an important conservation measure for American peregrine falcons on National Forest System lands (Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). Falcon nesting at Keller Cliffs is likely impacted by ongoing use on FS System Road 1N09 and other recreation activities. Potential Impacts to Peregrine Falcon: There is minimal appropriate peregrine foraging habitat and no peregrine nesting habitat in the Project Area. Birds that may be foraging in the Project Area during project activities could experience disturbances as generally described in Part II-3.4.8. Some reductions in prey species is expected as a result of the project, including habitat modification and injury/mortality during prescribed burning operations, but substantial foraging habitat in the surrounding areas will not be impacted as a result of the project (Part II-3.4.10). Overall, project-related impacts are expected to be minimal. Cumulative Effects for Peregrine Falcon: As stated above, project-related impacts for this species are expected to be minimal. Implementation of the Santa Ana fuelbreak (under analysis) will likely have an effect on nesting peregrine falcons at Keller Cliffs. The Santa Ana Fuelbreak project is still under analysis, but effects to peregrine falcons may include impacts to breeding activities. Design Criteria have been developed and incorporated into project design to reduce the impacts to the extent feasible, at the Keller Cliffs location. However, because there is no suitable nesting habitat within the Angelus Oaks project, implementation of the Proposed Action is not expected to cumulatively increase impacts to peregrine falcon nesting habitat. As stated above, impacts to foraging within the Project Area are expected to be minimal. Project Design Criteria are expected to further limit impacts. The current and reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the effects of the Proposed Action, affect only a small fraction of foraging habitat of peregrine falcon.

III-1.1.3 Willow Flycatcher (Migrant) (Empidonax traillii) Existing Condition for Willow Flycatcher (Migrant): The Forest Service considers the migrant willow flycatcher to be a Forest Service Sensitive species. The southwestern willow flycatcher subspecies is a federally listed species addressed later in this document. The willow flycatcher is a riparian-obligate species. This species occurs primarily in densely vegetated riparian habitats, preferring streamside associations of cottonwood (Populus spp.), willow (Salix spp.), alder (Alnus spp.), and other riparian vegetation. Willow flycatchers also occur in woodland edges, meadows, and brushy fields. Migrant willow flycatchers are likely to occur in the Project Area during spring and fall. There is suitable habitat for this species in a number of the drainages in the Project Area. The habitat that is suitable for southwestern willow flycatchers (discussed in Section IV-3.3.2) is considered suitable for migrant willow flycatchers.

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Baseline Conditions for Willow Flycatcher (Migrant): Habitat for migrant willow flycatchers is being impacted by development and encroachment throughout southern California. Another ongoing impact to this species throughout southern California is from encroachment into riparian zones by recreationists using the area for off-road vehicle use, wading in the water, mountain biking, dog walking, etc. This type of encroachment can be expected to disturb migrant birds, possibly causing displacement, degraded habitat, and individual mortality. It is also likely that desert-influenced springs and riparian zones that once supported important stop-over habitat for the migrant willow flycatcher has been degraded or lost through water diversions and development. For a more complete assessment on baseline conditions for this species, please see southwestern willow flycatcher section (Part IV-3.1) later in document. Potential Project-related Impacts to Willow Flycatcher (Migrant): Design Criteria incorporated in the Proposed Action to protect the endangered subspecies, the southwestern willow flycatcher, is also expected to protect migrant willow flycatchers. Adherence to project Design Criteria and BMPs is expected to prevent any impacts to individuals and riparian habitat used by migrating willow flycatchers. The effects discussion in Part IV-3.1.1for southwestern willow flycatcher also applies to migrant willow flycatcher. Cumulative Effects for Willow Flycatcher (Migrant): The cumulative effects discussion in Part IV-3.1.1 for southwestern willow flycatchers applies to the migrant willow flycatcher.

III-1.1.4 Large-blotched ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi) Yellow-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii croceater) California Legless Lizard (Aniella pulchra)

Existing Environment for Large-blotched and Yellow-blotched Ensatinas: In the San Bernardino Mountains, the yellow-blotched ensatina intergrades with the large-blotched ensatina (Stebbins 2003). Blotched ensatina salamanders found in the San Bernardino Mountains have color patterns similar to yellow-blotched salamander but appear to be genetically closer to E. e. klauberi (Wake and Schneider 1998). Large-blotched ensatina occurs from the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County south to Cottonwood Creek in San Diego County, primarily at elevations of 3,000–6,000 feet (900–1,800 meters) and are known from the Keller Peak area. Ensatinas are not known to occur in the San Gabriel Mountains. However, this absence has long been an enigma because there appears to be an extensive amount of suitable habitat there, and people continue to search for isolated, undiscovered populations. Both species of ensatina occur in woodlands dominated by canyon live oak and Coulter pine, in coniferous forests dominated by other yellow pines and incense cedar, and California scrub habitats containing oak, toyon, and buckwheat. Populations of ensatinas in drier regions of southern California primarily occur on north-facing slopes of deep canyons and in other microhabitats that provide cool, moist conditions. Ensatinas are frequently found near streams where soils are relatively moist, or in shaded, moist habitats where there is good canopy cover. Downed logs, leaf litter, and woody debris appear to be important habitat elements. Ensatinas are commonly found in areas with

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considerable leaf litter, which serves as an insulating blanket to help conserve moisture and to buffer temperature fluctuations. These species are nocturnal and difficult to see near the surface, so they could be more widespread than current data suggest. Juveniles and adults of both species are most active when the ground is wet and temperatures are moderate. Ensatina remain underground or under cover throughout dry weather. Except in areas where severe winter weather occurs, Ensatina emerge with the first rains of autumn and are active on the ground through spring. In one study, the average distance moved was 66 feet for mature males and 33 feet for mature females. The home ranges of females were 20–75 feet in greatest dimension; the home ranges of males were 33–135 feet. Suitable habitat exists in the Project Area for both large-blotched and yellow-blotched ensatinas. Existing Environment for California Legless Lizard: California legless lizard occurs from Contra Costa County, California, south through the Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges; through parts of the San Joaquin Valley; and along the western edge of the southern Sierra Nevada and western edge of the Mohave Desert (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Its reported elevational range extends from sea level to approximately 5,700 feet (1,737 meters) in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but most historic localities along the central and southern California coast are below 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) (Jennings and Hayes 1994). The species is most common in coastal dune, valley-foothill, chaparral, and coastal scrub habitats (Zeiner and others 1988).

California legless lizard is a burrowing species associated with sandy or loose loamy soils under the sparse vegetation of beaches, chaparral, or pine-oak woodland; or under sycamores, cottonwoods, or oaks growing on stream terraces (Jennings and Hayes 1994). It also occurs in desert scrub along the western edge of the Mojave Desert near Lancaster and in western portions of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. California legless lizards are often found under surface objects such as logs, rocks, and leaf litter. Soil moisture is essential for the species; California legless lizards die if they are unable to reach a moist substrate (Stephenson and Calcarone 1993.)

Suitable habitat for this species does occur in portions of the Project Area.

Baseline Conditions for Large-blotched Ensatina, Yellow-blotched Ensatina, and California Legless Lizard: Habitat for these species has been declining in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains due to development and degradation of riparian habitat. Past vegetation management projects on federal and non-federal lands have likely resulted in disturbance to this species, in short-term and, potentially, in long-term alterations of habitat where stands have been altered enough to change microclimate conditions. Despite these problems, the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains still have the largest contiguous amount of habitat available to many of these species. It is important to recognize that threats outside the Forest may be even greater.

Other impacts to these species and their habitats include being killed on the highways,

Part III 84 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project roads, and trails, and being collected by Forest visitors. Another threat to these species includes losses in habitat quality due to firewood collecting (cutting of snags and logs) that may remove downed log cover. Threats to these species, past and current, include fragmentation of habitat resulting from residential development and vegetation management treatments that remove the continuity of log habitat across the landscape. Potential Project-related Impacts to Large-blotched Ensatina, Yellow-blotched Ensatina, and California Legless Lizard: All of these species are associated with moist habitats and soils. Individuals present in the Project Area may experience mortality and/or injury due to construction of control lines and crew use of the area as all of these species are mostly slow-moving and unable to escape mechanized equipment. Mortality and injury is also possible during prescribed fire. Timing of implementation may also impact reproductive success if prescribed burning is conducted during breeding season for these species. Burning and construction of control lines could eliminate nesting sites in and under logs and/or under the duff layer.

If there is a delay in removal of downed materials after piling, ensatinas may begin to inhabit debris piles. Upon removal of these downed materials, ensatinas may be further disturbed or even permanently displaced as a result of loss of shelter or killed inadvertently during prescribed fire operations.

The amount of duff, leaf litter, and woody debris where the species may occur will be reduced during project activities. Occupied or future burrows may be crushed by foot traffic. Associated microclimates may be altered, rendering the habitat unsuitable. Because of the need for a moist and mesic substrate, burning and opening up habitat by vegetation removal could reduce the quality of habitat for these species. Modification of habitat would be re-occurring as maintenance activities are periodically implemented.

Because these species have relatively short home ranges (greatest known distance is 135 feet for ensatinas), there is potential for populations to become temporarily isolated across the Project Area. Local ensatinas and legless lizards from areas of no treatment and outside project area may be able to repopulate treated areas as fossorial animals create new burrows, and duff layers and leaf litter becomes reestablished post- implementation.

Design Criteria include retention and protection of some downed logs by raking fuels away. Furthermore, the Design Criteria call for avoidance of rock outcrops, springs, and seeps. Additional Design Criteria were incorporated into the Proposed Action to reduce risk to species that may be using slash piles. Design Criteria/BMPs address retention of ground cover and placement of slash piles. Restrictions on activities and treatments in RCAs would provide additional protection for individuals and for their habitats. Impacts are expected to be short term. However, continued alterations of habitat will occur during future maintenance activities.

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Cumulative Impacts to Large-blotched Ensatina, Yellow-blotched Ensatina, and California Legless Lizard: See Parts II-3.1for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities.

Most of the Forest Service and non-Forest Service fuels reduction activities that are in progress or planned for the foreseeable future have potential to impact ensatinas and/or California legless lizards that do or may occur in the Project Area. These species are associated with downed logs, talus slopes, riparian/mesic areas, and/or heavy duff layers.

Current and potential future vegetation management activities on National Forest System (NFS) lands do and would include Design Criteria to protect these species and their habitats. While projects on NFS lands attempt to retain important reptile- amphibian habitat components and include measures to avoid direct impacts, the same is probably not true for activities on non-federal land. Similar vegetation/fuels projects on private lands do not generally carry the same levels of Sensitive reptile and amphibian habitat protection as those on the SBNF and have likely resulted in greater disturbance to these species, by short-term and, potentially, long-term alterations of habitat. The level of impacts and habitat alteration/losses from downed woody debris removal is unknown and likely varies by land ownership.

Current projects that may cumulatively affect habitat for these species include Spanish broom removal along Hwy 38. There are three acres of broom mapped within the project boundaries. It is anticipated that removal of these three acres will cause a very small and localized additional impact to ensatinas and legless lizards.

These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the potential effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the range and habitat of these three species.

III-1.1.5 San Diego Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillii) Existing Environment for San Diego Horned Lizard: San Diego horned lizards are found in a wide variety of habitats including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, grassland, coniferous forest, oak woodland, riparian, and the margins of the higher elevation desert where it is restricted to the juniper-desert chaparral. Within each of these habitats, this species prefers areas with loose, fine soils, an abundance of open areas for basking, and plenty of native ants and other insects. This species has been reported from elevations ranging from sea level to above 8,000 feet (0–2,600 meters).

The primary defense that this lizard uses against approaching predators is camouflage. Since they depend on their cryptic appearance and simply lie motionless they may be more likely to be injured by crews working in the area. Horned lizards of the genus Phrynosoma are primarily ant-eating reptiles whose dietary habits are well known (Montanucci 1981, Rissing 1981, Pianka and Parker 1975, Powell and Russell 1984, Turner and Medica 1982). Up to 90 percent of the diet of P. c. blainvillei consists of native harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex spp.) (Pianka and Parker 1975), and this species

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does not appear to eat nonnative Argentine ants (Jennings and Hayes 1994) that have replaced native ants in much of southern California (Ward 1987). Other slow moving insects, such as termites, beetles, flies, wasps, grasshoppers and caterpillars are consumed opportunistically when encountered (Dixon 1967, Ingles 1929, Jennings and Hayes 1994, Miller and Stebbins 1964, Presch 1969, Pianka and Parker 1975, Reeve 1952, Stebbins 1985).

P. c. blainvillei emerges from hibernation in March, and becomes surface active in April through July, after which most adults estivate (summer hibernation) (Hagar 1992). The adults reappear again briefly in late summer and return to overwintering sites between August and early October depending upon elevation (Hagar 1992, Howard 1974, Klauber 1939).

Suitable habitat for this species exists within the Project Area and the species is expected to occur. This species is known from nearby Thomas Hunting Grounds (K. Meyer, pers. obs.) and the San Bernardino County Museum has reported observations of this species in lower Plunge Creek and in Mill Creek.

Baseline Conditions for San Diego Horned Lizard: The specialized diet and habitat requirements, site fidelity, and cryptic defense behavior make horned lizards highly vulnerable. Commercial collecting, and habitat loss due to agriculture and urbanization is the main reasons cited for the decline of these taxa. In coastal areas, most surviving populations inhabit upland sites with limited optimal habitat (Jennings and Hayes 1994).

However, the most insidious threat to P. c. blainvillei is the continued elimination of its food base by exotic ants. Argentine ants colonize around disturbed soils associated with building foundations, roads and landfills, and expand into adjacent areas, eliminating native ant colonies (Ward 1987). Under these conditions P. c. blainvillei populations have become increasingly fragmented, and have undergone the added stress of a number of other factors, including fire, grazing, off-road vehicles, domestic cats, and development (Jennings and Hayes 1994). This taxon is unable to survive habitats altered by development, agriculture, off-road vehicle use, or flood control structures (Goldberg 1983).

Potential Project-related Impacts to San Diego Horned Lizard: Horned lizards are slow- moving and remain motionless when threatened, and may experience mortality/injury during even slow-burning ground fires and possibly foot traffic associated with ground work. However, available burn windows may coincide when horned lizards are underground in hibernation. Therefore, direct mortality/injury impacts may be very limited. Impacts to native ants and other possible prey species could be substantial depending on the heat of ground fires and how deep the prey is found in the soil, and to a lesser extent the amount of compaction by ground workers. Shallow prey could experience mortality while those found deeper would survive. Soil mitigation measures and BMPs that address retention of ground cover are expected to lessen these kinds of impacts. Increased open areas may increase the exposure of this species to predators after the

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initial project activities and also after long-term maintenance. However, this species requires an abundance of open areas for basking; clearing and burning may provide a temporary increase in desirable habitat in the short term and after maintenance treatments. Design Criteria include retention of downed logs and avoiding rock outcrops, springs, and seeps. Design Criteria/BMPs address retention of ground cover and placement of slash piles. Restrictions on activities and treatments in RCAs would provide additional protection for individuals and for their habitats. Adverse impacts to horned lizards resulting from the project are expected. Relative to the range of San Diego horned lizard, the Project Area is but a small percentage of suitable habitat for this species on National Forest lands. Cumulative Impacts to San Diego Horned Lizard: See Parts II-3.1 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Most of the Forest Service and non-Forest Service fuels reduction activities that are in progress or planned for the foreseeable future have potential to impact the same Sensitive reptiles and amphibians that do or may occur in the Project Area. San Diego horned lizards are primarily associated with sandy open areas with available ants and other prey insects. Current and potential future vegetation management activities on National Forest System (NFS) lands do and would include Design Criteria to protect these species and their habitats. While projects on NFS lands, such as Spanish broom removal along Hwy 38, attempt to retain important reptile/amphibian habitat components and include measures to avoid direct impacts, the same is probably not true for activities on non-federal land. Relatively flat, open, and sandy areas are being consumed for residential or agricultural purposes on private lands, and generally do not carry the same levels of reptile and amphibian habitat protection as those on the SBNF. This has likely resulted in disturbance to these species, by short-term and, potentially, long-term alterations of habitat. The level of impacts and habitat alteration/losses likely varies by land ownership. These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the potential effects of the Proposed Action, affect only a small fraction of the range and habitat of these species.

III-1.1.6 Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata rosafusca), San Bernardino Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus modestus), San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra, and Southern Rubber Boa (Charina bottae umbratica) Existing Environment Coastal Rosy Boa: Coastal rosy boas are a Forest Service Region 5 Sensitive species. This subspecies occurs from the foothills of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains south through San Diego County into Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California. The taxon’s elevational range is from sea level to 6,790 feet (2,070 meters) (Lind 1998). Coastal rosy boa is known to occur in suitable habitat

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on the Angeles, Cleveland, and San Bernardino National Forests (Fisher and Case 1997, Klauber 1931).

They are secretive snakes that occur in coastal sage scrub and chaparral-dominated communities that contain large rocks and boulders for cover and refuge (Klauber 1931). Vegetation types associated with these habitats include California sage, buckwheat, chemise chaparral, and ceanothus/manzanita chaparral. Coastal rosy boas are often found near permanent or intermittent streams (Stebbins 1985). Coastal rosy boa is active primarily at night and at dusk (Melli 1999) but can also be active during daylight hours, especially in late Spring (K. Meyer, pers. obs.). Most observations of this subspecies are made in late spring and early summer (Lind 1998), which coincides with the breeding season. The diet of coastal rosy boa consists of small rodents and birds, which are killed by constriction (Klauber 1931). This snake has been collected for pets and is threatened by development and increased recreational use of forested areas where it occurs.

Suitable habitat exists in the Project Area and the species is likely to occur.

Existing Environment for San Bernardino Ringneck Snake: Ringneck snakes are found in a wide variety of habitats from sea level to 6,400 feet (1,950 meters). Distribution information is spotty, but it appears that these snakes are more common at low- elevation sites (i.e., below 3,000 feet [915 meters]). Ringneck snakes are not strongly associated with riparian habitats, but the apparent importance of tree frogs and slender salamanders in their diet suggests they may seek out and require moist microclimates. This habitat association is also suggested by their reported absence from desert-side habitats. Ringneck snakes are small and cryptic, and rarely seen on the surface, but are usually found under rocks, logs, or leaf litter.

Woodpiles, flat rocks, rotting logs, and small holes in the ground are all used for cover. These snakes avoid open or barren areas. Ringneck snakes appear to move seasonally between summer habitats and hibernacula. They may aggregate at dens for winter hibernation. These snakes may exhibit site tenacity, establishing long-term home ranges. In one study, snakes could still be located within 32 feet of their initial capture point even after a number of years, indicating strong site tenacity. A clutch of three eggs is laid from April to July, hatching from August to October. Suitable habitat for this species exists in the Project Area. The San Bernardino County Museum recorded a ringneck snake observation during surveys in Upper Plunge Creek in 2001. Another ringneck was identified during pitfall trapping near Hwy 38 just south of Skinner Creek in 2006.

Existing Environment for San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake: San Bernardino mountain kingsnake is typically found in sunlit canyons with rocky outcrops. At lower elevations, it is associated with chaparral species and bigcone spruce; at higher elevations it is associated with black oak, incense cedar, Jeffrey pine, and ponderosa pine. Partially shaded rock outcrops for refugia and basking sites appear to be an important microhabitat element. Large downed logs may also be important. Mountain

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kingsnakes consume lizards, snakes, nestling birds, bird eggs, and small mammals. Mountain kingsnakes exhibit diurnal and crepuscular activity patterns from mid-March through mid-October and nocturnal activity patterns during warmer months. Activity is more restricted at higher elevations.

This species is known from Angelus Oaks and surrounding areas. Suitable habitat for this species exists throughout the Project Area.

Existing Environment for Southern Rubber Boa: Southern rubber boas are state-listed as threatened and considered a Forest Service Region 5 Sensitive species. Boas are found in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains at elevations of 5,050–8,070 feet (1,540–2,460 meters) (Stewart 1988). Southern rubber boas are secretive snakes that occur in a variety of montane forest habitats including chaparral, woodlands, mixed conifer forest, and riparian areas. Favored cover includes rotting logs, rocky outcrops, and other surface debris. Primary prey includes small mammals, lizards, and amphibians.

This species is rare in the San Bernardino Mountains, and the population trends for this species are unknown. The Project Area is occupied as a road killed boa was collected on HWY 38 near Camp Angelus (R. Eliason, pers. comm.). Other known occurrence records exist nearby in Barton Flats and habitat is suitable within the Project Area. Based on field surveys conducted by Setsuda and Elliott in 2010, the northern and the eastern portions of the Project Area are more suitable than the western portion as they contain more downed woody debris, larger downed logs and more duff (Map B-2).

Baseline Conditions for Coastal Rosy Boa, San Bernardino Ringneck Snake, San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake, and Southern Rubber Boa: The coastal rosy boa, southern rubber boa, and San Bernardino Mountain kingsnakes are all threatened by poaching (and over collecting in the case of rosy boa since they can be legally taken with a valid fishing license). Boas are relatively easy to care for in captivity (Underwood and Smith 1997) and kingsnakes are an attractive species that has resulted in significant illegal commercial trade. Furthermore, destruction of microhabitat for all four species by poachers is another consequence of collecting (e.g., dismantling rock outcrops and shredding down logs) (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Little is known about the secretive ringneck snake but this species is probably similarly affected.

Other impacts to these species and their habitats include being killed on highways, roads, and trails. Another threat to these species includes losses in habitat quality due to firewood collecting (cutting of snags and logs) that may remove downed log cover. Threats to these species, past and current, include fragmentation of habitat resulting from residential development and vegetation management treatments that remove the continuity of log habitat across the landscape.

Potential Project-related Impacts to Coastal Rosy Boa, San Bernardino Ringneck Snake, San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake, and Southern Rubber Boa: Project

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activities may result in injury or loss of individuals during construction of control lines, slash pile burning, and prescribed burning. If there is a delay in removal of downed materials after piling, snakes may begin to inhabit debris piles and logs. Upon removal of these downed materials, snakes may be further disturbed as a result of loss of shelter as a result of prescribed fire operations.

All four of these snake species will likely experience temporary disturbances during project implementation. Sensitive species training may help minimize the chance of snakes (especially noticeable boas and kingsnakes) being killed or collected as pets.

Prey species for these snakes will be affected as generally described in Part II-2.0. The loss of any logs will reduce the habitat for some prey species (lizards, snakes, and small mammals) while the loss of understory will likely result in decreased habitat for other prey (nestling birds and bird eggs if project is conducted during the breeding season). The bird breeding season will be avoided to the extent possible per project Design Criteria. Proportional to the degree to which the bird breeding season can be avoided, impacts to eggs and chicks will be avoided. Changes to habitat over time (with re-occurring maintenance) may also alter prey habitat.

Habitat impacts with regards to reduction in canopy cover were addressed above in Part II-3.0. Indirect effects of opening the forest up and removal of dead and downed logs will change the habitat suitability in both the short and during maintenance activities for certain wildlife species. Partially shaded rock outcrops for refugia and basking sites appear to be an important microhabitat for these snakes. To the extent that open spaces associated with early successional habitat stages are created by project activities, these snakes’ basking opportunities may initially, and after periodic maintenance, benefit.

Prescribed fire operations will result in the reduction of the duff layer, soil, and other surface debris. Impacts include changes to soil moistures, microclimate shifts with opening up the vegetation, and prey loss associated with loss of duff, logs, and other downed woody debris.

Vehicles will not be permitted off existing roads, thereby reducing the amount of potential disturbance. The Design Criteria require that activities avoid, to the extent possible, creating piles on and within 30 feet of rock outcrops in rubber boa habitat, which is essentially the entire Project Area. Field biologists mapped and flagged the best rubber boa habitat features to prioritize pile avoidance areas. By avoiding rock outcrops during project implementation, many of the adverse impacts to primary habitat features for these species will be avoided. However, rock outcrops are still subject to being impacted by hand crews, broadcast burning, and possibly pile burning.

The Design Criteria call for retaining a minimum of nine downed logs per acre (minimum 12 inches in diameter and 120 total linear feet) where they don’t pose an unacceptable buildup of fuels. Some logs may be lost during underburning operations. Snag retention standards would provide for future recruitment of downed logs. However, treatments will

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continue (in the form of maintenance) on a rotational basis so impacts will be reoccurring and it is possible that log and snag retention standards in some of these areas will not be met because of their proximity to communities.

In summary, potential impacts should be lessened by Design Criteria, RCAs, and BMPs but some death or injury to individual snakes may occur and some areas would have reduced habitat quality as a result of less ground and woody debris cover long term as maintenance continues.

Cumulative Impacts to Coastal Rosy Boa, San Bernardino Ringneck Snake, San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake, and Southern Rubber Boa: See Parts II-3.1 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Most of the Forest Service and non-Forest Service fuels reduction activities that are in progress or planned for the foreseeable future have potential to impact the same Sensitive reptiles and amphibians that do or may occur in the Project Area. These four snake species are associated with downed logs, rock piles/outcrops, riparian/mesic areas, and/or heavy duff layers. Current and potential future vegetation management activities on National Forest System (NFS) lands do and would include RCAs and Design Criteria to protect these species and their habitats. Some of the SBNF fuels reduction projects in the planning phase may have suitable habitat for these snakes. Similar Design Criteria in those areas would help minimize changes to the habitat quality and potential for disturbance. Nonetheless, current fuel reduction and hazard tree projects that are being implemented across the SBNF may be creating zones (e.g. shaded fuelbreaks) with limited ground cover that could be detrimental to these snakes. The proposed project would result in a reduced habitat quality in terms of downed woody material and duff. Large areas lacking downed woody habitat may effectively fragment habitat by making movements more unlikely and risky. In addition to the SBNF, the same types of projects are being implemented by SCE, Caltrans, NRCS, and other agencies. Similar vegetation/fuels projects on private lands do not generally carry the same levels of reptile and amphibian habitat protection as those on the SBNF and have likely resulted in disturbance to these species, both short term and, potentially, long term alterations of habitat. The level of impacts and habitat alteration/losses from vegetation/fuels projects is unknown and likely varies by land ownership. All of these current and future projects have some potential to result in losses of individuals and some degradation of habitat quality. Current, non-fuels projects that may cumulatively affect habitat for these snakes include Spanish broom removal along Hwy 38. There are three acres of broom mapped within the project boundaries. It is anticipated that removal of these three acres will cause a very small and localized additional impact to these species. These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the potential effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the range and habitat of these species.

III-1.1.7 Two-striped Garter Snake (Thamnophis hammondii)

Existing Environment for Two-striped Garter Snake: Two-striped garter snakes are known to occur in many streams distributes across the San Bernardino National Forest. Two-striped garter snakes inhabit perennial and intermittent streams and ponds in

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chaparral, oak woodland, and other forest habitats (Jennings and Hayes 1994, Rossman et al. 1996). The species is, primarily, associated with aquatic habitats that are bordered by riparian vegetation and provide open areas nearby for basking (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Two-striped garter snakes also occupy adjacent grassland and coastal sage scrub in upland areas during the winter (Jennings and Hayes 1994, Rossman et al. 1996). Two-striped garter snakes feed mostly on fish, fish eggs, and tadpoles and metamorphs of frogs and toads, but they also eat worms and California newt larvae (Jennings and Hayes 1994).

There is suitable habitat for this species in the Project Area. Two-striped garter snakes may use intermittent stream aquatic habitat and upland habitat within the project boundaries. This snake was observed by the San Bernardino County Museum in nearby Bear Creek in 2005 and 2006 and the Santa Ana River in 2002 and 2003 (K. Meyer, pers. obs.).

Baseline Conditions for Two-striped Garter Snake: Two-striped garter snake still occurs in all the mountain subareas in southern California, but has disappeared from many historic locations in the coastal basins (Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). Because much of the extant population in California occurs on or adjacent to the Angeles, Cleveland, San Bernardino, and Los Padres National Forests, management of aquatic habitats and associated riparian vegetation and upland aestivation sites on those forests is important to the continued survival of this species.

An increase in recreational use of riparian areas is a threat to the two striped garter snake (Jennings and Hayes 1994).

Potential Project-related Impacts to Two-striped Garter Snake: Being a fast-moving snake, active individuals when flushed will probably leave the area quickly and seek cover. Design Criteria to protect existing downed logs will help to prevent injury to garter snakes taking cover in and under logs. Designation of RCAs will limit mortality and/or injury to snakes occupying riparian habitats. There may be some loss and likely short- term displacement of individuals inhabiting upland areas during cutting, piling, and prescribed burn operations. Some snakes will return to the areas from which they were flushed after project-related disturbance discontinues. Part II-3.4.5 describes the project-related effects to riparian and aquatic habitats. There will be some modification of upland habitat for two-striped garter snake, including clearing during initial work and maintenance, which may increase the snake’s vulnerability to predators. Upland habitat modification could also affect this snake’s prey base; although, it mostly feeds in the aquatic environment, which will be avoided to a great extent. Aquatic habitat is not expected to be substantially impacted by this project and measurable impacts are not expected to aquatic-based prey. Cumulative Impacts to Coastal Two-striped Garter Snake: See Parts II-3.1 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities.

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Most of the Forest Service and non-Forest Service fuels reduction activities that are in progress or planned for the foreseeable future have potential to impact the same reptiles and amphibians that do or may occur in the Project Area. Two-striped garter snakes are associated with aquatic/riparian habitats. Current and potential future vegetation management activities on National Forest System (NFS) lands do and would include RCAs and Design Criteria to protect two-striped garter snakes and their habitats. While projects on NFS lands, such as planned projects like the Santa Ana Fuelbreak and current projects like Spanish Broom Removal, attempt to retain important reptile/amphibian habitat components and include measures to avoid direct impacts, the same is probably not true for activities on non-federal land. Projects on private lands do not generally carry the same levels of Sensitive reptile and amphibian habitat protection as those on the SBNF and have likely resulted in disturbance to these species, by short- term and, potentially, long-term alterations of habitat. The level of impacts and habitat alteration/losses from vegetation/fuels projects is unknown and likely varies by land ownership. These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the potential effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the range and habitat of this species.

III-1.1.8 Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Plecotus townsendii) Existing Environment for Townsend’s Big-eared Bat: The distribution of this species is strongly correlated with the availability of suitable caves and cave analogues (mines, rock shelters, tunnels, buildings, etc.) for roosting. Population centers occur in areas dominated by exposed, cavity-forming rock and/or historic mining areas (Sherwin 1998). Townsend’s big-eared bats were detected at 6 of 76 sites on southern California National Forest System lands. They were also found at 14 abandoned mine locations in the northeastern San Bernardino Mountains. One site occurred on the San Bernardino National Forest and the other five sites on the Cleveland National Forest. Townsend’s big-eared bat can be found in a variety of habitats throughout California, from the moist coastal redwoods to the mid-elevation mixed conifers to the dry deserts, but they are most commonly associated with desert scrub, mixed conifer, pinyon- juniper, and pine forest. Within these communities, these bats are most commonly associated with limestone caves, mines, lava tubes, buildings and tunnels. Abandoned mines are particularly important as roost sites in areas where there are not suitable caves. A high degree of site fidelity for roosts/hibernacula (more than 80 percent) has been noted for this species. During spring and summer, females establish maternity colonies in the warm parts of caves, mines, and buildings. Maternity colonies are very vulnerable to disturbance. During hibernation, Townsend’s big-eared bats typically prefer habitats with relatively cold (but above freezing) temperatures in quiet, undisturbed places. These areas are often in the more interior, thermally stable portions of caves and mines or sometimes in buildings. Townsend’s big-eared bat feeds primarily on small moths, but also takes other insects including flies, lacewings, dung beetles, and sawflies (Kunz and Martin 1982). This bat

Part III 94 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project flies slowly and is highly maneuverable, foraging both above and within forest canopies (Findley et al. 1972, Hayward and Davis 1964, Pierson et al. 1999). Townsend’s big- eared bat has been observed gleaning insects from vegetation (Howell 1920); however, the extent to which this foraging strategy is used is unknown (Pierson et al. 1999). There is a roost site for this species several miles to the south west of Angelus Oaks in Plunge Creek (K. Meyer, pers. knowledge.). Suitable foraging habitat is present in the Project Area. Most of the typical roosting habitat types (mines, tunnels, and buildings) are not present in the Project Area but buildings nearby on private land may offer roosting habitat for this species.

Baseline Conditions for Townsend’s Big-eared Bat: In general, declines of bat populations can often be attributed to roost site disturbance, loss of foraging habitat and loss of roost sites. Many bats are shy and highly vulnerable to disturbances at roost sites. Disturbance at roost sites can lead to short and long term abandonment. Roost sites are lost as abandoned mines collapse or are destroyed to provide for human safety.

Generally, bats have high site fidelity to winter and maternity roosts. Low reproductive potential, high longevity and high roost fidelity make populations highly sensitive to roost threats. Local extirpation may possibly occur as a result of roost disturbance (Hermanson and O'Shea 1983, Orr 1954, O'Shea and Vaughan 1977, Philpott 1997). Disturbance that arouses a bat during their winter hibernation will cause loss of accumulated fat reserves and possible starvation.

Loss of roost sites reduces the distribution and often the number of bats to fewer sites. This makes remaining populations even more susceptible to potential impacts and greater loss of individuals or populations at the local or regional level. The availability of roost sites provided by tree and shrub bark or foliage has been reduced by timber harvest and urbanization. Dam construction and water impoundments for water storage and flood control have resulted in losses of roosting habitat in rocky canyons.

Bats often utilize a variety of habitats for foraging but tend to prefer those that are more open or are along edges. These conditions allow for more flight mobility and a broader prey base. Foraging habitat has been lost to urbanization and agriculture. This is particularly pronounced in riparian areas, valleys, oak woodland foothills, and coastal basins where there are concentrated areas of homes, businesses and agriculture. Livestock grazing may also eliminate forage and cover for insects. As a result, insect productivity may be reduced.

Hibernating bats in the northeastern United States are dying in record numbers from white-nose syndrome (WNS). This affliction was first documented at four sites in eastern New York in the winter of 2006-07. WNS has rapidly spread to multiple sites throughout the northeast and has begun its spread west. It was documented in Oklahoma in 2010. WNS has not yet spread to California, but it is likely to arrive soon.

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Potential Project-related Impacts to Townsend’s Big-eared Bats: There is limited (probably none) roosting habitat within the project footprint. However, there is likely to be suitable roosting habitat just outside the project boundaries in privately-owned buildings. Bats roosting outside of the project footprint are not expected to experience mortality or injury. Roosting bats outside of the project footprint may experience some noise disturbances during implementation. Smoke from prescribed burning could disturb bats, who may limit use of the area until the disturbance is over. Project implementation will not occur at night (except limited patrol and mop up operations after burning activities) so impacts to active bats will be reduced. Although somewhat unlikely, it is possible that big-eared bats can roost in hollow trees or behind loose bark in the Project Area. Mortality and/or injury of bats occupying hollow trees or located behind loose bark may occur if animals do not flush prior to prescribed fire implementation. It is expected that most bats would fly away prior to prescribed fire and mop up operations. Daytime flying caused by disturbance could cause an increased rate of predation. Inadvertent removal of a small number of dead and dying trees through prescribed fire or a limited number of hazard tree felling could reduce the amount of possible roosting habitat within the Project Area. Indirect effects to the prey of Townsend’s big-eared bats will occur. This bat feeds primarily on small moths, but also takes other insects including flies, lacewings, dung beetles, and sawflies (Kunz and Martin 1982) and forages both above and within forest canopies. Impacts to Townsend’s big-eared bat and its prey are expected to be limited to minor disturbances during implementation because possible roosting sites within the Project Area (hollow snags and behind loose bark) are not common structures for use by this species for roosting. Overall, impacts to Townsend’s big-eared bats are expected to be minor and localized and both short-term including maintenance activities if this species occurs in the Project Area. Cumulative Effects for Townsend’s Big-eared Bat: See Parts II-3.1for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Townsend’s big-eared bats are also likely to be affected, to a minor extent, by similar currently implemented fuels reduction projects. These projects have the same potential impacts to forest habitat components and forest microclimates important to this bat and its prey. Design Criteria are included in the projects currently being implemented and those being planned on the SBNF; those Design Criteria would help protect important habitat components and disturbance potential during seasons of importance. Roosting habitat is unlikely to be directly affected during project implementation. Most of the Project Area is expected to remain suitable for foraging Townsend’s big-eared bats due to Design Criteria and because the layout of the project is not expected to result in habitat fragmentation for this species. These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the possible range and habitat of Townsend’s big-eared bat.

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III-1.1.9 Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) Existing Environment for Pallid Bat: Distribution of this species on the San Bernardino National Forest is not well known. Abandoned mines surveys in the northeastern San Bernardino Mountains failed to detect the species. Pallid bats are found in a variety of habitats, including rocky canyons, open farmland, scattered desert scrub, grassland, shrubland, woodland, and mixed conifer forest. Pallid bats appear to be more prevalent within edges, open stands, particularly hardwoods, and open areas without trees. Pallid bats roost in rock crevices, mines, caves, tree hollows, and a variety of anthropogenic structures. Pallid bats frequently use buildings, bridges, and culverts in California. This bat is intolerant of roosts with temperatures in excess of 104 °F (40 °C). Pallid bats primarily glean prey from the ground or surfaces of vegetation, but have also been observed to take prey in flight. Prey items include large insects such as scorpions, crickets, praying mantids, and moths. Pallid bats are known to hibernate but arouse periodically throughout the winter to forage and drink. There are no known occurrences of pallid bats within the Project Area. However, suitable habitat is present within the Project Area. Buildings located adjacent to the project on private lands may also provide roosting habitat.

Baseline Conditions for Pallid Bat: In general, declines of bat populations can often be attributed to roost site disturbance, loss of foraging habitat and loss of roost sites. Many bats are shy and highly vulnerable to disturbances at roost sites. Disturbance at roost sites can lead to short and long term abandonment. Roost sites are lost as abandoned mines collapse or are destroyed to provide for human safety.

Generally, bats have high site fidelity to winter and maternity roosts. Low reproductive potential, high longevity and high roost fidelity make populations highly sensitive to roost threats. Local extirpation may possibly occur as a result of roost disturbance (Hermanson and O'Shea 1983, Orr 1954, O'Shea and Vaughan 1977, Philpott 1997). Disturbance that arouses a bat during their winter hibernation will cause loss of accumulated fat reserves and possible starvation.

Loss of roost sites reduces the distribution and often the number of bats to fewer sites. This makes remaining populations even more susceptible to potential impacts and greater loss of individuals or populations at the local or regional level. The availability of roost sites provided by tree and shrub bark or foliage has been reduced by timber harvest and urbanization. Dam construction and water impoundments for water storage and flood control have resulted in losses of roosting habitat in rocky canyons.

Hibernating bats in the northeastern United States are dying in record numbers from white-nose syndrome (WNS). This affliction was first documented at four sites in eastern New York in the winter of 2006-07. WNS has rapidly spread to multiple sites throughout the northeast and has begun its spread west. It was documented in Oklahoma in 2010. WNS has not yet spread to California, but it is likely to arrive soon.

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Potential Project-related Impacts to Pallid Bat: Roosting habitat is present within the project footprint in the form of rock crevices and hollow trees. Additional roosting habitat is present on adjacent private lands in anthropogenic structures. If present, roosting bats may experience some noise disturbances during implementation. Smoke from prescribed burning could disturb bats, who may limit use of the area until the disturbance is over. Project implementation will, to the extent practical, not occur at night so impacts to active, foraging bats will be reduced. However, exceptions may be made when necessary during broadcast burning if mop up or patrols are required. Mortality and/or injury of bats occupying hollow trees, located behind loose bark or in rock crevices may occur if animals are not flushed prior to hazard tree felling. It is expected that most bats would fly away prior to prescribed fire operations. Daytime flying caused by disturbance could cause an increased rate of predation. Inadvertent removal of dead and dying trees through prescribed fire and limited hazard tree felling could reduce the amount of suitable roosting habitat within the Project Area. Indirect effects of the project to the bat’s prey base are possible. Pallid bats primarily glean prey from the ground or surfaces of vegetation, but can take prey in flight. Prey items (e.g., scorpions, crickets, praying mantids, and moths) could be impacted by prescription and pile burning smoke, trampling, removal of suitable vegetation, and changes in moisture regimes, which these species utilize as important habitat. Overall, impacts to pallid bats are expected to be localized and both short term if the species occurs on the project site. Cumulative Effects for Pallid Bat: See Parts II-3.1 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Pallid bats are also likely to be affected by similar currently implemented fuels reduction and those in the planning phase. These projects have the same potential impacts to forest habitat components and forest microclimates important to pallid bats. Design Criteria are included in the projects currently being implemented and those being planned; those Design Criteria would help protect important habitat components and reduce disturbance potential during seasons of importance. In addition, any efforts by FS and other agencies to protect existing roosting and maternity hibernacula will help protect the species. Most of the Project Area is expected to remain suitable for foraging pallid bats due to Design Criteria and because the layout of the project is not expected to increase habitat fragmentation. Some loss of hollow tree roosting habitat may occur, but it is expected to be limited to trees that are identified as hazardous. These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of possible range and habitat of pallid bats.

III-1.1.10 Western Red Bat (Lasiurus blossevillii) Existing Environment for Western Red Bat: The western red bat is associated with large deciduous trees in riparian habitat for roosting. It often occurs in streamside

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habitats dominated by cottonwood, oaks, sycamore, and walnut. Foraging occurs in association with streams, forest openings, and clearings. The western red bat is primarily a solitary species that roosts in the foliage of trees and shrubs in habitats bordering forests, rivers, cultivated fields, and urban areas (Harvey and others 1999). Stokes (pers. comm.) mentions that this solitary foliage roosting species typically selects roost sites in riparian trees such as cottonwood and sycamore. Roost sites are generally hidden from view from all directions except below; they lack obstruction beneath, allowing the bat to drop downward for flight; they lack lower perches that would allow access by predators; have dark ground cover to minimize solar reflection; and have nearby vegetation to reduce wind and dust. This species has also been described as using saguaro cavities and cave-like structures for roosting habitat. Western red bat copulation occurs in August and October and may be initiated in flight. Fertilization is delayed, occurring the following spring. Females of this species do not form maternity colonies. Western red bat litters range from one to five young (average of three), more than most other bats. Young are born between mid-May and late June. Western red bats are year-round residents in some areas of California. It is not known exactly where western red bats hibernate, though they may burrow into leaf litter or dense grass like their eastern counterparts. Hibernation may also occur in tree foliage or tree hollows. Their thick fur, small ears, and furred tail help to minimize heat loss. Western red bats begin foraging approximately 1–2 hours after sunset, with some bats feeding through the night. The diet of western red bat consists of a variety of flying insects such as moths and flies, but it also includes bugs, beetles, cicadas, ground-dwelling crickets, and hymenopterans. Foraging generally begins at high altitude in the air, but later moves to between tree canopy level and a few feet above the ground. Some western red bats mainly feed on moths by aerially hawking along edges, over meadows, and along riparian courses. Suitable habitat for western red bats exists in the Project Area. The western red bat was detected by mist net capture or Anabat acoustic detector at Sugarloaf Meadows and Big Bear Dam on the San Bernardino National Forest (Stephenson and Calcarone 1999). Baseline Conditions for Western Red Bat: In general, declines of bat populations can often be attributed to roost site disturbance, loss of foraging habitat, and loss of roost sites. Disturbance at roost sites can lead to short- and long-term abandonment. Generally, bats have high site fidelity to winter and maternity roosts. High roost fidelity makes populations highly sensitive to roost threats. Disturbance that arouses a bat during their winter hibernation causes loss of accumulated fat reserves and possible starvation. Loss of roost sites reduces the distribution and often the number of bats to fewer sites. This makes remaining populations even more susceptible to potential impacts and greater loss of individuals or populations at the local or regional level. The availability of

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roost sites provided by tree and shrub bark or foliage has likely been reduced by timber harvest and urbanization. Foraging habitat has been lost to urbanization and agriculture. This is particularly pronounced in riparian areas, valleys, oak woodland foothills, and coastal basins where there are concentrated areas of homes, businesses, and agriculture. Livestock grazing may also eliminate forage and cover for insects. As a result, insect productivity may be reduced. Pesticide use may pose a threat to bats. Bats that primarily consume insects may be exposed to home and agricultural pesticides. Pesticides and other chemicals may accumulate and lead to sickness or death of bats. Western red bats have likely been affected by previous vegetation management projects (both on NFS lands and non-NFS lands) and fires that have the potential to change forest habitats and microclimates. Ongoing SBNF activities, like use of Forest System roads, represent some level of continued disturbance in bat habitat. Other threats to red bats that are dependent on mixed conifer forest and riparian habitats include losses in habitat quality due to firewood collecting (cutting of snags and logs) that may change snag availability for roost and maternity sites. Hibernating bats in the northeastern United States are dying in record numbers from white-nose syndrome (WNS). This affliction was first documented at four sites in eastern New York in the winter of 2006-07. WNS has rapidly spread to multiple sites throughout the northeast and has begun its spread west. It was documented in Oklahoma in 2010. WNS has not yet spread to California, but it is likely to arrive soon. Potential Project-related Impacts to Western Red Bat: Mortality of bats occupying trees could occur if roosting bats do not flush prior to hazard tree felling. It is expected that most bats would fly away prior to tree felling; this, however, may not be the case if tree felling operations occur prior to young being able to fly. Daytime flying caused by disturbance could cause an increased rate of predation. Roosting bats may experience some noise disturbances during implementation. Smoke from prescribed burning could disturb bats, who may limit use of the area until the disturbance is over. To the extent that the project is implemented during the winter, when this bat species is not present in much of the southwest, the impacts will be further reduced. This species typically roosts in the foliage of riparian trees, but can roost in other trees as well. Large trees will not likely be affected by prescribed burning activities. Limited removal of hazardous trees will occur to provide for crew safety during project implementation. Red bats forage in association with streams, forest openings, and clearings. Implementation of the proposed project will result in more open stands and clearings which may improve the foraging habitat for western red bats. Prescribed fire is proposed for a majority of the Project Area. The western red bat roosts in the foliage of trees and shrubs in habitats bordering forests, rivers, fields, and urban areas, usually in riparian trees. While riparian habitat would not be intentionally ignited, there may be some potential for a creeping back-burn to enter the riparian areas. Some loss of suitable foraging and roosting habitat is possible due to prescribed burning. Low intensity of creeping backfire would not result in intense burning of willows

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or other riparian shrubs and trees. If creeping backfires did enter riparian habitat, it would likely result in some small areas becoming unsuitable until riparian regrowth occurs. Some riparian trees may also be felled if deemed hazardous during project implementation. The Design Criteria including designation of RCAs and adherence to BMPs also provide measures to limit vegetation treatments in riparian zones. Protection of riparian areas will limit impacts to riparian foraging habitat and typical roosting habitat. Short-term minor modifications to suitable western red bat foraging and roosting habitat could occur, but long term modifications to habitat are unlikely. Similar potential for minor habitat modification also exists during future maintenance activities. Indirect effects of the project to the bat’s prey base is possible. The prey of the western red bat includes flying insects, such as moths and flies, but it also consumes bugs, beetles, cicadas, ground-dwelling crickets, and hymenopterans. Some prey could be impacted by prescription and pile burning smoke, trampling, and removal of suitable vegetation, which these prey species utilize as important habitat. Design Criteria, such as avoiding riparian areas and limitations on nighttime activities, retaining downed logs, designations of RCAs, and the use of BMPs will lessen the potential for impact on prey species. In summary, for western red bats, RCAs and Design Criteria would help protect habitat quality and reduce the likelihood of death or injury of individuals, which is overall considered low. Some impacts to habitat components and prey species may occur, and these are likely to be re-occurring during maintenance. These features will also decrease the impact of project activities to the western red bat prey. Cumulative Effects for Western Red Bats: See Parts II-3.1 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Western red bats are also likely to be affected by similar currently implemented fuels reduction and those in the planning phase. These projects have the same potential impacts to forest habitat components and riparian habitat components important to western red bats, such as large deciduous trees. Design Criteria and RCAs are included in the projects currently being implemented and those being planned; those Design Criteria and RCAs would help protect important habitat components and reduce disturbance potential during seasons of importance. While treatments on NFS lands provide for protection of riparian habitats, the same may not be true for non-NFS lands. All of these current and future projects have some potential to result in losses of individual bats, prey, and some degradation of habitat quality where trees are removed to provide for safety. These reasonably foreseeable cumulative impacts, together with the effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the range and habitat of western red bats.

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III-1.1.11 San Bernardino White-eared Pocket Mouse (Perognathus alticolus alticolus) Existing Condition for San Bernardino White-eared Pocket Mouse: The white-eared pocket mouse is known to occur in arid shrub and forest communities in south-central California in Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties (Best 1994). The San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse is endemic to the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County. Records of occurrence for this subspecies on National Forest System lands are all from the vicinity of Strawberry Peak and Little Bear Valley in the western San Bernardino Mountains at elevations of 5,400–5,800 feet (1,646–1,768 meters) (Best 1994, Williams 1986). These are old museum collections; San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse has not been collected since 1934 despite extensive surveys to relocate it in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Sulentich 1983, Williams 1986). Little is known about this species, but historic white-eared pocket mouse localities were in open pine forests containing bracken ferns, in grassy flats among scattered ponderosa pines and Joshua trees, and in pinyon-juniper woodland habitats (Best 1994). Williams (1986) suggests that San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse may occur in sagebrush, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and open pine forests on the north side of the San Bernardino and possibly the San Gabriel Mountains. Small portions of the Project Area may be suitable for the San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse. Suitable habitat exists in nearby drainages below the project area as reported by B. LaHaye to R. Eliason (K. Meyer, pers. comm.) though there are no known occurrences. Baseline Conditions for San Bernardino White-eared Pocket Mouse: Many of the mountain valleys within the potential range of this species are privately owned and have been developed or inundated by reservoirs. With exception of a USDA Forest Service fire lookout tower, the area surrounding Strawberry Peak is privately owned and largely developed (Winter 1998). The historic site locality (Squirrel Inn) is now a private conference center and camp with relatively few facilities and a lot of undeveloped land. Threats include earth-disturbing activities without appropriate level of surveys or measures where the historic collections were expected to occur. If this species no longer exists in the Rim Forest/Strawberry Peak/Squirrel Inn area, it might be as a result of changes in vegetation due to fire or fire exclusion (Eliason pers. comm.). The habitat at the 7500' level on the north slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain is all National Forest land with few negative impacts. Potential ongoing impacts could include off-road vehicle damage to vegetation and habitat loss to fire. Potential Project-related Impacts to San Bernardino White-eared Pocket Mouse: The San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse may be affected by ground-disturbing activities such as brush thinning, pruning, broadcast burning, and pile burning. Some losses of individuals are expected. All vehicle use will be restricted to existing roads. Hand crews will avoid placing piles adjacent to larger trees, down logs, and rock outcrops, which will help limit potential impacts to the San Bernardino white-eared

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pocket mouse. Nevertheless, project activities could cause mortality or injury to individuals during implementation. If there is a delay in removal of piled materials, the San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse may colonize or take shelter in debris piles. Upon removal of piled materials, this mouse may be further disturbed as a result of loss of shelter. The Design Criteria require that, when possible, piles of brush will be removed and burned as soon as possible after piling in order to minimize colonization by wildlife. However, based on the history of past project implementation on this forest, some piles have been left seven years or more before treated. At that point, they are likely colonized by wildlife, perhaps including the San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse. The Design Criteria call for retaining a minimum of nine downed logs per acre (minimum 12 inches in diameter and 120 total linear feet) where they don’t pose an unacceptable buildup of fuels. Raking of fuels and debris away from downed logs will also cause some disturbance but has a net benefit of protection the log habitat. Retention of snags, as required in the Design Criteria, would provide for future recruitment of downed logs. However, treatments will continue (in the form of maintenance) on a rotational basis so impacts will reoccur and it is possible that snag and log retention standards in some of these areas will not be met because of their proximity to communities. The snag and log retention guidelines and abundant numbers of dead trees are expected to continue to provide reasonably adequate habitat for those species that forage and shelter in and around logs. The Design Criteria require that activities avoid, to the extent possible, creating piles on and within 30 feet of rock outcrops and existing logs in rubber boa habitat, which is essentially the entire Project Area. This will help to reduce, but not necessarily prevent, potential impacts to the San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse. Cumulative Effects for San Bernardino White-eared Pocket Mouse: See Parts II-3.1.3.2 and II-3.1.3.3 for a list of current and foreseeable future activities. Some of the SBNF fuels reduction projects in the planning phase may have suitable habitat for this mouse. Similar Design Criteria in those areas would help ensure minimal changes to the habitat quality and minimal potential for disturbance. Nonetheless, current fuel reduction and hazard tree projects that are being implemented across the SBNF are creating zones (e.g. shaded fuelbreaks) with no or limited ground cover material that could be detrimental to the San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse. In addition to the SBNF, the same types of projects are being implemented by SCE, Caltrans, and NRCS. While treatments on NFS lands provide for retention of appropriate habitat outside of fuelbreaks, the same may not be true for non-NFS lands. All of these current and future projects have some potential to result in losses of individuals and some degradation of habitat quality. These reasonably foreseeable impacts for the San Bernardino Mountains, together with the effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the potential habitat of the San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse.

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III-1.1.12 San Bernardino Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus californicus) Existing Environment for San Bernardino Flying Squirrel: The flying squirrel was recently petitioned for federal listing. However, at this time, the squirrel is still a FS Sensitive Species. The best available information on the present distribution of the San Bernardino flying squirrel comes from an analysis of spotted owl pellets throughout the San Bernardino Mountains (LaHaye unpublished data). The San Bernardino Mountains support a disjunct, isolated subspecies of northern flying squirrels. This subspecies is separated from the closest populations of other subspecies in the Sierras by at least 150 miles. The San Bernardino flying squirrel occurs at elevations between 4,000–8,400 feet. San Bernardino flying squirrels are known to occur in Jeffrey pine/white fir mixed conifer forests with some oak components. Importance of the oak component and the ideal percent species composition of conifers are unknown (Williams 1986). Northern flying squirrels typically rely on seeds, nuts, truffles, lichens, fungi, eggs, baby birds, and fruits of conifers, oaks, other trees, and shrubs. They forage in trees and on the forest floor. Flying squirrels are generally associated with old growth or mature, dense conifer forests. Important habitat elements include cavities in mature trees, large snags, and logs. Often they are found near riparian areas and probably require free water. In Oregon, population densities of northern flying squirrels were significantly correlated with availability of suitable cavities in trees and snags with diameters greater than 20 inches (Volz 1986). From the study efforts in the San Bernardino Mountains, habitat at successful trapping sites can be characterized as mature to over-mature mixed conifer forest with relatively high numbers of snags and downed logs. The habitat is relatively open and lacks a dense undergrowth component. The canopy is relatively closed. The dominant species on site were Jeffrey pine and white fir. All sites also had a black oak component in the vegetation mix. All of the successful trapping sites were either north- facing or northeast-facing slopes with relatively little exposure. Those slopes are generally cooler and moister than surrounding areas with different aspects. Population densities of northern flying squirrels in Oregon were significantly correlated with availability of suitable cavities in trees and snags with diameters greater than 20 inches. Most nests and shelters are located in cavities in trees or snags. Occasionally stick nests are built. Cavities may be more important during winter months, whereas non-cavity nests are utilized more frequently during spring and summer. Presence of witches’ brooms may also be important for outside den sites. The squirrels usually breed in March and young are weaned at approximately 80 days. Two litters per year may be common in southern California. Flying squirrels are active year-round and are nocturnal. The breeding season of the northern flying squirrel is late March through May. During 1990–1992 SBNF trapping efforts in the Big Bear area, enlarged testes and mammaries indicated that reproductive activities were occurring late May through the middle of July. No reproductive indicators were observed in animals trapped in late July and August. In the 1998 trapping efforts, northern flying squirrels caught in the last week of June and

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the first week of July were undoubtedly young of that year based on their weights. These results suggest that babies may be born in April/May. Little information about daily and seasonal activity patterns is available for the San Bernardino flying squirrel. During the 1990–1991 SBNF study, extensive trapping was conducted in the San Bernardino Mountains. Most of the captures were made during the months of June and July, with lower trapping success in April and May. No flying squirrels were caught after August 22 even though trapping continued until mid- November. These data may indicate increased activity levels or changes in foraging patterns during June and July but further study is needed to draw more definite conclusions. Northern flying squirrels are active throughout the year and there are no indications that they enter torpor during cold periods. They have been observed active at temperatures down to –24 ºC. Northern flying squirrels are known to aggregate nest in winter to lessen heat loss during cold weather. Other subspecies of northern flying squirrels are nocturnal with occasional activity periods during the day. During late summer, they exhibit a biphasic nocturnal pattern. They leave the nest shortly after sundown and return after 2 hours, then leave again a few hours before sunrise for an average of 76 minutes. Radio-telemetry studies investigating activity patterns and movements of northern flying squirrels in North Carolina noted two peak times in foraging activities per night. They were generally most active 1–3 hours after sunset and again 7–10 hours after sunset, with a marked decrease in activity between the two periods. Ferron (1983) noted a similar biphasic activity pattern in northern flying squirrels in Quebec, Canada, with the second period of activity occurring 3–5 hours before dawn. The period of low activity each night generally coincided with the lowest temperatures. Northern flying squirrels may be particularly sensitive to fragmentation of their habitat. In a study in northern California, the frequency of occurrence of northern flying squirrels was found to be positively correlated with size of the stand; there was only one occurrence in a stand less than 49 acres. Stands less than 49 acres were concluded to be nonviable as they lacked a full complement of vertebrate species. Approximately 75 percent of the stands over 247 acres had northern flying squirrels. There was also a significant negative correlation between frequency of occurrence of northern flying squirrels and percentage of insularity (percentage of stand perimeter surrounded by clear-cut edge). Frequency of occurrence was approximately equal in stands with up to 75 percent insularity. A sharp decline occurred in stands with over 75 percent insularity. Thus, it appeared that the degree of isolation of forested patches and the size of those patches dictated usability by northern flying squirrels. The ability of northern flying squirrels to traverse open areas has not been extensively studied. One study conducted radio-tracking of northern flying squirrel movements and found a maximum gliding distance of about 155 feet with a mean glide distance of 65 feet. The flying squirrels readily glided over 30-foot-wide roads.

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During the San Bernardino flying squirrel study in 1991, typical glide lengths were approximately 60 feet, varying with height of take-off, slope gradient, and canopy density. Squirrels were observed dropping under the highest canopy level, gliding in extended paths down slope from the points of release. The longest glide observed was approximately 300 feet down a 35 percent well-treed slope. Mowrey and Zasada (1982) also concluded that 65-foot-wide openings between forested areas, with occasional openings 100–120 feet wide, do not impede movement for northern flying squirrels. In larger areas, scattered trees appear to aid movement. Waters found northern flying squirrel use in a “shelterwood cut” thinned to approximately 14 trees per acre (55-foot spacing between 100-foot tall trees). Some flying squirrels roosted in shelterwood-logged stands but foraged in surrounding uncut forest areas. Corridors connecting habitat blocks (“leave strips” between cut areas) should be a minimum of 98 feet wide when openings are present on both sides of the corridor. Between 1990 and 1992 and in the late 1990s, the Mountaintop Ranger District conducted trapping efforts to learn more about this subspecies. Successful trapping sites were characterized as mature to over-mature mixed conifer forest with relatively high numbers of snags and downed logs. The habitat was relatively open and lacked a dense undergrowth component but the canopy was relatively closed. The dominant species on site were Jeffrey pine and white fir, with a black oak component. The successful trap sites also had a heavier duff level than surrounding areas. All of these sites were either north-facing or northeast-facing slopes with relatively little exposure. The slopes were generally cooler and moister than surrounding areas with different aspects. All of the sites also had either ephemeral streams/springs or intermittent streams with some riparian vegetation in close proximity. San Bernardino flying squirrels are known to occur in the Project Area (based on Forest Service records and analysis of California spotted owl pellets). It is likely that they occur throughout the entire Project Area. Baseline Conditions for San Bernardino Flying Squirrel: Habitat for this species was probably impacted through logging in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains from the late 1800s up to the late 1980s. Selective harvest would have included large trees that could provide flying squirrel denning and foraging habitat. The earlier treatments, however, generally did not treat understory species and generally had light ground disturbance. With the absence of wildfire, stands have become denser and ground cover has increased, providing better foraging habitat, but may have decreased open areas for gliding. As part of the 2004 Angelus Oaks Community Protection project, the forested area around Angelus Oaks was thinned in 2004 and 2005. Little is known about the capability of flying squirrels to disperse through areas of unsuitable habitat. San Bernardino flying squirrels have evolved with a naturally fragmented habitat pattern in the San Bernardino Mountains, but it is unclear what effect, if any, wildland fires, increasing development on private lands, and habitat modifications on public lands are having on the taxon's distribution. Habitat

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fragmentation may be occurring in some areas where resulting openings are wider than 200 feet. Large openings may reduce the ability of flying squirrels to utilize adjacent suitable habitats. Past and ongoing impacts to San Bernardino flying squirrels and their habitat include fragmentation of habitat for residential developments, ski resorts, vegetation management treatments, and hazard tree removal that remove the continuity of habitat or have changed stand conditions across the landscape. Domestic cats are thought to be an additional threat to flying squirrels, resulting in frequent losses of individuals. All of these potential threats are ongoing in the San Bernardino Mountains. Potential Project-related Impacts to San Bernardino Flying Squirrels: Habitat features that strongly influence flying squirrel abundance include sufficient trees to enable efficient locomotion, nest and den site substrates (cavity-bearing trees and snags), and truffle and arboreal lichen biomass (Verner et al. 1992). It is possible that some individuals will be killed, orphaned, or injured during prescribed fire operations and hazard tree felling. Disturbance due to prescribed fire, or noise associated with crews and their equipment, may result in adult flying squirrels abandoning the tree; however, young flying squirrels may not be able to escape. As such, the later in the summer implementation occurs, the fewer potential losses of individuals are expected from this project because the young would be more mobile and better able to escape. Most individuals of this highly mobile species will likely escape. Flying squirrels are nocturnal to a great extent. Night work (and use of artificial lighting) will be avoided, wit the exception of mop up and patrols, during this project, which will lessen the potential for direct impacts. To the extent that administrators and crew training and identification information on rare animals within Project Area can be provided, direct impacts to individual squirrels may be further reduced. These squirrels are associated with suitable cavities in trees and snags with diameters greater than 20 inches. Flying squirrels are generally associated with old growth or mature, dense conifer forests, which is commonly coincident with spotted owl habitat. The California Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy guides the design of vegetation and fuels management efforts within PACs (Protected Activity Centers) and HRCs (Home Range Core) to retain important habitat components and forest stand structure and no treatments will take place in known spotted owl nest stands (30 to 60 acres around the nest trees), so adverse effects to habitat should be reduced. Ladder fuel reduction will provide additional protection to snag-dependent species’ habitat. Often these squirrels are found near riparian areas and probably require free water. In that riparian areas (RCAs) will be avoided to a large extent, impacts to squirrels in this important habitat will be further avoided. During project implementation, existing overall structural suitability should be retained to a great extent but not completely. While there could be reductions in the numbers of snags and logs due to prescribed burning and hazard tree removal, the Design Criteria retention guidelines should result in minimizing changes in suitable flying squirrel habitat. Design Criteria strive to protect a minimum of 10 to 15 hard snags per 5 acres (minimum 16 inches diameter at breast height and 40 feet tall, or next larger available).

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Due to the low to moderate intensity prescribed fire planned and limitations on removal of snags, minimal loss of habitat (especially large snags) is expected for this species. Northern flying squirrels typically feed on seeds, nuts, truffles, lichens, fungi, eggs, baby birds, and fruits of conifers, oaks, other trees, and shrubs. They forage in trees and on the forest floor. There could be some impacts to foraging habitat, especially truffles and mycorrhizal fungi associated with heavy duff layers and deep soils. Truffle biomass is strongly associated with the presence of a well-developed organic layer and the volume of decaying logs. Broadcast burning would affect these components and reduce truffle habitat. Foraging habitat within and under existing logs will be impacted. Design Criteria include raking fuels away from downs logs and log retention standards., especially. Availability of other food sources, particularly seeds and fruits, is not expected to be greatly affected by the treatments. Opening up the forest (as a result of the initial and maintenance activities) may, to some extent, encourage the growth of some of these seed- and fruit-producing plants. No permanent long-term disturbance impacts to flying squirrels are expected, though reoccurring disturbance and habitat impacts will occur during maintenance activities. Because of the abundance of snags surrounding the Project Area and the limitations on removal of snags and logs within the project, there should be minor changes in availability of suitable habitat for this species. Food for this species will be temporarily affected after project implementation (including maintenance activities). It is possible that some individuals would be killed, orphaned or injured during felling of hazard trees. However, most individuals of this highly mobile species would likely escape. Cumulative Effects for San Bernardino Flying Squirrels: The analysis area for cumulative effects is the San Bernardino Mountains. See Parts II-3.1.3.2 and II-3.1.3.3 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Some of the SBNF fuels reduction projects in the planning phase may have suitable habitat for this squirrel. Similar Design Criteria would help ensure minimal changes to the habitat quality and minimal potential for disturbance. Nonetheless, current fuel reduction and hazard tree projects that are being implemented across the SBNF are creating zones (shaded fuelbreaks, etc.) with no or low levels of snags and downed woody material that are important to flying squirrels. However, because the flying squirrel is a highly mobile animal, these zones are not anticipated to create significant barriers to movement. In addition to the SBNF, the same types of projects are being implemented by SCE, Caltrans, and NRCS. While treatments on NFS lands provide for retention of snags and downed logs outside of fuelbreaks, the same may not be true for non-NFS lands. All of these current and future projects have some potential to result in losses of individuals and some degradation of habitat quality where large snags are removed to provide for safety. This Project Area is expected to remain suitable for flying squirrels due to Design Criteria and is not expected to result in habitat fragmentation. These reasonably

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foreseeable impacts, together with the effects of the Proposed Action, affect a small fraction of the range and habitat of San Bernardino flying squirrels.

III-1.2 Sensitive Animals – Impacts of No Action See Part II-3.5 for a discussion of the potential forest condition if no treatments are implemented. Under No Action alternative, there would be no immediate change in forested habitat conditions until a disturbance, such as wildfire, drought, or insects, affected the habitat. The Project Fuels Report (FireWise2000 2011) indicates that without treatment, the forested stands in the Project Area would continue to deviate from historic conditions due to the exclusion of frequent low-severity fires. The analysis predicts that mortality of the large tree component, an important stand component to spotted owls and San Bernardino flying squirrels, could be expected to persist. Additionally, recruitment of large trees would slow due to the density-related decline in tree reproduction, growth, and vigor. The deviation from historic conditions include higher numbers of understory trees (predominately white fir), increased mortality of large trees due to competition with the understory trees, unnatural fuel buildup levels, and increased forest pest populations. Build up of ladder fuels, increase the chances of crown fires, which kill many older trees.

III-2.0 DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS

Sensitive Wildlife Species: It is our determination that implementation of the Proposed Action, as described, may affect individuals, but is not likely to result in a trend toward federal listing or loss of viability for any of the following Sensitive species: California spotted owl, American peregrine falcon, large-blotched ensatina, yellow-blotched ensatina, California legless lizard, San Diego horned lizard, coastal rosy boa, San Bernardino ringneck snake, San Bernardino mountain kingsnake, southern rubber boa, two-striped garter snake, Townsend’s big-eared bat, pallid bat, western red bat, San Bernardino white-eared pocket mouse, and San Bernardino flying squirrel. It is our determination that implementation of the Proposed Action, as described, will not affect migrant willow flycatchers. The project is not expected to interfere with maintaining viable populations for any of the Sensitive species discussed in this evaluation.

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PART IV: BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS TO THREATENED, ENDANGERED, PROPOSED, AND CANDIDATE SPECIES

IV-1.0 INTRODUCTION

This Biological Assessment (BA) part of this document addresses proposed and listed threatened, endangered (T/E) wildlife species and their proposed and designated Critical Habitat. Under agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Forest Service only addresses candidate species in programmatic consultations. Because this is a project-level analysis, candidate species are not addressed in the Biological Assessment. Candidate Species, if any, are addressed in the Biological Evaluation (Part III).

IV-2.0 CONSULTATIONS AND CONFERENCES TO DATE

Under the Counterpart Regulations of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, projects implemented under the National Fire Plan (50 CFR 402.31) provide for determinations of “not likely to adversely affect” by the action agency without concurrence by USFWS. The first 2011 quarterly species list request was sent to USFWS on March 4, 2011. Concurrence letter was sent on April 1, 2011, with following clarifications: Corrected species name for arroyo toad to Anaxyrus californicus (as of February 9, 2011) and noted there is no longer proposed Critical Habitat for this species (76 Federal Register 7245). The modifications identified in this response letter from USFWS are included in this evaluation. On 13 July 2011, the Forest Service notified Geary Hund of USFWS that this project was currently being planned but analysis was preliminary and the species being affected was unknown at that time. There are several programmatic and project-specific consultations that have set the stage for this consultation. Riparian Obligate BA/BO of 1999 (1999 Riparian Consultation) The SBNF prepared a Biological Assessment for “The SBNF Problem Areas for Riparian Obligate Species” in 1998 (USFS 1998). USFWS issued a Biological Opinion (1-6-99-F-21) on the BA in March 2000 (USFWS 2000). The BA/BO covered the site- specific effects of activities related to roads, trails, developed recreation sites, general recreation, and several special use permits in known occupied habitats for the above- mentioned species. The 1999 Riparian Consultation addressed arroyo toad, California red-legged frog, southwestern willow flycatcher, and least Bell’s vireo. At that time, mountain yellow-legged frog was not listed and none of the riparian obligate species had designated or proposed Critical Habitat on the SBNF. Programmatic Consultation on LMP in 2000/2001 (2001 LMP Consultation)

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In 2000, the SBNF and the other National Forests in the Southern Province prepared a Programmatic BA for the existing LMPs at the time (USFS 2000). USFWS issued a Biological Opinion (1-6-00-F-773.2) in 2001 (USFWS 2001). The 2001 LMP BO incorporated by reference the 1999 Riparian Consultation and kept in place the terms and conditions and the take statements from the 1999 Riparian Consultation. Hazardous Fuels Management Programmatic Consultation 2004/2005 (2005 Fuels Consultation) In 2004, the SBNF initiated consultation on the Forest’s fuels reduction and vegetation management programs (USFS 2004b). A USFWS letter dated August 29, 2005 (FWS- SB/WRIV-3468.2) included concurrence of the “not likely to adversely affect” determinations (by using the Proposed Action’s Design Criteria) for several species. The formal consultation for this programmatic BA was withdrawn due to a change in strategies; no BO was written for the species with “may adversely affect” determinations and no “incidental take” statement was issued to the SBNF. Programmatic Consultation on LMP in 2005 (2005 LMP Consultation) In 2005, the SBNF and the other three Southern Province National Forests initiated consultation on the updated LMP (Biological Assessment for the Revised Land Management Plans, dated March 18, 2005) (USFS 2005). A BO was issued September 15, 2005 (1-6-05-F733.9 – Biological and Conference Opinions on the Revised Land and Resource Management Plans for the Four Southern California National Forests, California) (USFWS 2005). That consultation did not cover site-specific ongoing effects from National Forest management and did not provide for incidental take. On June 9, 2006, USFWS adopted the Conference Opinions on the 2005 LMP for Critical Habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher. Riparian Obligate Ongoing Effects Consultation in 2008 (2008 Riparian BA) In July 2008, the SBNF initiated consultation on the ongoing effects from Forest management activities to eight riparian-dependent species. A Biological Opinion has not yet been issued. The 2008 Riparian BA contains detailed information about past and ongoing activities that affect riparian threatened and endangered species.

IV-3.0 BASELINE CONDITIONS AND POTENTIAL EFFECTS FOR T/E SPECIES

Table 6 contains the current T/E wildlife species for the SBNF. The species in Table 6 were all considered during this evaluation of potential effects for this project. A number of T/E wildlife species are known or are expected to occur within the Project Area. If outside the species’ known range or suitable habitat is not present (identified with an “N” in Table 6), such species will not be further addressed in this document. This is based on records from CNDDB, observations during surveys of the Project Area by biologists, incidental observations in the project vicinity, and historical occupancy data.

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There are no wildlife species proposed for federal listing in the Project Area and Candidate species are not considered in this analysis. The summarized species descriptions below are from the detailed species accounts developed for the Forest Plan revision process found at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/read.htm. Refer to this website for further information and literature cited. Literature cited as contained in the LMP species accounts (and summarized in this document) are not included in the literature cited section of this document. These references are available hard copy in the 2005 LMP Revision project file located at the Cleveland National Forest Supervisor’s Office. The “Project Area”, as used in this document, includes all the habitat within the project boundaries (or footprint), directly adjacent habitats that have the potential to be affected by the project, and habitats that are located downstream of the project boundaries that have the potential to be affected by the project. Part I of this document contains descriptions of the methods/evaluation process, the Proposed Action, and habitat in the Project Area. See the existing environment described in Part II-2.0 and the effects analyses common to wildlife species/habitats in Part II-3.0. The following species and site-specific evaluations tier to those discussions. See Part II-3.1 for an explanation of Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Effects. That section also contains discussions about present and foreseeable future projects that are considered in the Cumulative Effects discussions for each species. The Cumulative Effects discussions below include two definitions: • Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), “cumulative impacts” are those impacts caused by past, present, and future federal, state, and private activities within or onto special status species and their habitats. • Under the ESA, “cumulative effects” only consider future non-federal activities that are reasonably certain to occur. Future federal activities or activities permitted by federal agencies are not included under ESA “cumulative effects” because any proposed future federal activities or federally permitted activities must undergo Section 7 consultation with the USFWS. See Part II-3.1 for a list of past and ongoing activities, current actions, and foreseeable future activities considered in this project. Those discussions also apply to the following discussions.

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Table 6. Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, and Candidate Wildlife Species in the Angelus Oaks Project Area

COMMON NAME LATIN NAME OCCURRENCE INFORMATION* HABITAT CRITICAL OCCURRENCE Mountain- Front San TYPE** HABITAT IN PROJECT top Country Jacinto ON SBNF AREA ENDANGERED SPECIES Quino checkerspot butterfly Euphydryas editha quino N N Y c Designated and N Proposed unarmored threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni N H N aq N mountain yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa N Y Y r, aq Designated P arroyo toad Anazyrus californicus Y Y Y d,aq,r Designated N California brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis californicus U U N aq N California condor Gymnogyps californianus H H H mc,g,c,a,rk,wo N southwestern willow flycatcher Empidonax trailii extimus Y Y Y r,m Designated Y in the project footprint, P downstream, CH downstream least Bell's vireo Vireo bellii pusillus N Y P r,m N San Bernardino kangaroo rat Dipodomys merriami parvus N Y Y w Designated N Stephens’ kangaroo rat Dipodomys stephensi N N L g N Peninsular bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis cremnobates N N Y wo, rk, d Designated and N Proposed THREATENED SPECIES Santa Ana sucker Catostomus santannae N H N aq CH downstream California red-legged frog Rana aurora draytonii H H N r,aq N desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii Y P Y d N coastal California gnatcatcher Polioptila californica californica N P P c N FEDERAL CANDIDATE SPECIES Western yellow-billed cuckoo Coccyzus americanus occidentalis U P P r N/A N *Occurrence Information: **HABITAT TYPES/HABITAT COMPONENTS N = Outside known distribution/range of the species or a = aerial; usually seen in flight, often over several habitat types suitable habitat not present. r = riparian (streamside thickets and woodlands) P = Occurrence of the species is possible; suitable g = grasslands, fields, and agricultural areas habitat exists. m = marshes, meadows; both freshwater areas and moist meadows Y = Species is known to occur. c = chaparral and coastal sage scrub wo = woodlands; pinyon-juniper, oaks mc = mixed conifer forests; Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, big-cone Douglas fir, Coulter pine, sugar pine, white fir overstory Critical Habitat Occurrence d = desert; Joshua tree woodlands, creosote bush scrub, blackbrush scrub PCH = Proposed Critical Habitat aq = aquatic; lakes, reservoirs, ponds, vernal pools/puddles CH = Designated Critical Habitat u = urbanized areas w = washes and alluvial fans rk = cliffs and rocky outcrops s = snags and cavities

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IV-3.1 Baseline Conditions for T/E Wildlife and Potential Effects – Proposed Action

IV-3.1.1 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (SWWF) (Empidonax traillii extimus) Existing Environment for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: The southwestern willow flycatcher is federally and state-listed as endangered. The southwestern willow flycatcher is a riparian bird known to nest in riparian woodlands and dense willow thickets within meadows and streams. It feeds primarily on insects and occasionally on seeds and berries. An important habitat component is the dense growth of the lower branches within willow thickets or a dense shrub understory. Riparian communities provide both nesting and foraging habitat for the southwestern willow flycatcher. Southwestern willow flycatcher nests are in thickets of trees and shrubs approximately 13 to 23 feet tall with a high percentage of canopy cover and dense foliage up to 13 feet above ground. The nest site plant community is typically even-aged, structurally homogeneous, dense, and near surface water or saturated soil (Brown 1988, Sedgwick and Knopf 1992, Sogge et al. 1993). Other characteristics such as dominant plant species, size and shape of habitat patch, canopy structure, and vegetation height vary widely among sites. Along the upper San Luis Rey River in San Diego County, approximately 90 percent of southwestern willow flycatcher nests were in coast live oak. On the San Bernardino National Forest, southwestern willow flycatchers have been documented to nest in sigle layer canopy (Steve Loe, pers. comm.). Southwestern willow flycatchers were once considered widely distributed and common in California, occurring wherever suitable habitat existed in the Los Angeles basin, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, and the lower Colorado River. California once may have supported the majority of nesting. Currently in California, southwestern willow flycatchers exist only in small disjunct groups and have been extirpated from the lower Colorado River (Hunter et al. 1987, Unitt 1987, Rosenberg et al. 1991). Most returning flycatchers show site fidelity to breeding territories; however, a significant number move within and among sites (Finch and Stoleson 2000). So, if a site is surveyed in one year and determined to be unoccupied, that does not mean it will not be occupied in successive years. The Primary Constituent Elements (PCEs) for southwestern willow flycatcher Critical Habitat are as follows (USFWS 2005): 1) Riparian habitat in a dynamic successional riverine environment (for nesting, foraging, migration, dispersal, and shelter) that comprises:

• Trees and shrubs that include Gooddings willow (Salix gooddingii), coyote willow Salix exigua), Geyers willow (Salix geyerana), arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis), red willow (Salix laevigata), yewleaf willow (Salix taxifolia), pacific willow (Salix lasiandra), boxelder (Acer negundo), tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), Russian olive (Eleagnus angustifolia), buttonbush

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(Cephalanthus occidentalis), cottonwood (Populus fremontii), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), alder (Alnus rhombifolia, Alnus oblongifolia, Alnus tenuifolia), velvet ash (Fraxinus velutina), poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), lackberry (Rubus ursinus), seep willow (Baccharis salicifolia, Baccharis glutinosa), oak (Quercus agrifolia, Quercus chrysolepis), rose (Rosa californica, Rosa arizonica, Rosa ultiflora), sycamore (Platinus wrightii), false indigo (Amorpha californica), Pacific poison ivy (Toxicodendron diversilobum), grape (Vitus arizonica), Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia), Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila), and walnut (Juglans indsii).

• Dense riparian vegetation with thickets of trees and shrubs ranging in height from 2 m to 30 m (6 to 98 ft). Lower-stature thickets (2 to 4 m or 6 to 13 ft tall) are found at higher elevation riparian forests and tall-stature thickets are found at middle- and lower elevation riparian forests;

• Areas of dense riparian foliage at least from the ground level up to approximately 4 m (13 ft) above ground or dense foliage only at the shrub level, or as low, dense tree canopy;

• Sites for nesting that contain a dense tree and/or shrub canopy the amount of cover provided by tree and shrub branches measured from the ground (i.e., tree or shrub canopy with densities ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent);

• Dense patches of riparian forests that are interspersed with small openings of open water or marsh, or shorter/sparser vegetation that creates a mosaic that is not uniformly dense. Patch size may be as small as 0.1 ha (0.25 ac) or as large as 70 ha (175 ac); and

2) A variety of insect prey populations found within or adjacent to riparian floodplains or moist environments, including: flying ants, wasps, and bees (Hymenoptera); dragonflies (Odonata); flies (Diptera); true bugs (Hemiptera); beetles (Coleoptera); butterflies/moths and caterpillars (Lepidoptera); and spittlebugs (Homoptera).

Designated Critical Habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher occurs downstream of the project boundaries along the Santa Ana River and Mill Creek (Map B-5). No modeled habitat occurs within the project boundaries (Map B-4). Suitable and modeled habitat exists downstream of the project boundaries in Mountain Home Creek and Mill Creek. Suitable habitat used to exist in lower Mountain Home Creek. This habitat has seince matured (senesced) and is no longer suitable (G. Braden, pers. comm.). Forest Service records indicate that a nesting pair was documented in 1993 near the confluence of mainstem Cold Creek and the western tributary of Cold Creek. Map B-7 illustrates the mapped habitat considered to be occupied in 1993. Presence/absence surveys have not been conducted at this location since 1993. Protocol level surveys were conducted in mainstem Cold Creek where it crosses Hwy 38 in 2004 and 2005 though no willow flycatchers were detected. Habitat suitability surveys conducted in

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July 2011 confirmed that the habitat in mainstem Cold Creek below the confluence with the western tributary is suitable for southwestern willow flycatchers (Map B-7). Suitable habitat in mainstem Cold Creek is concentrated in the bottom of the creek, a relatively narrow strip of habitat. However, habitat suitability surveys conducted in July 2011 indicate that the western tributary of Cold Creek is not suitable for willow flycatchers. Within this tributary, riparian patches are small (less than 0.5 acres) and did not meet density requirements for the species. Therefore, there is no suitable habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher within the project boundaries. Baseline Conditions for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers: Extensive loss of low elevation riparian habitat across its range and brood parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird were identified as the primary cause of this species’ decline. Habitat for southwestern willow flycatchers is being impacted by development and encroachment throughout southern California. Throughout southern California, another ongoing impact to this species is from encroachment into the riparian zones by recreationists using the area for off-road vehicle use, enjoying nature, wading in the water, mountain biking, dog walking, etc. This type of encroachment can be expected to disturb nesting birds, possibly causing displacement, nest abandonment, lowered breeding success, degraded habitat, and individual mortality. It is also likely that desert-influenced springs and riparian zones that once supported southwestern willow flycatcher habitat have been degraded or lost through water diversions and development. Currently in California, willow flycatchers exist only in small disjunct groups and have been extirpated from the lower Colorado River. None of the designated Critical Habitat is located within the San Gabriel Mountains or anywhere else in the SBNF. Twenty-six nesting locations were found on the SBNF from 1999 to 2004 resulting in a population of at least 37 breeding pairs in 2001 (Braden and Mckernan 2000-2005). Breeding since 2006 has been intermittent at the known sites.

This paragraph from the SBCM 2008 report summarizes the current understanding of southwestern willow flycatcher population status in the nearby San Bernardino Mountains (SBCM 2008): There is an emerging pattern at the larger scale of overall southwestern willow flycatcher occurrences in the San Bernardino Mountains. Since southwestern willow flycatcher surveys by SBCM began in 1999, the percentage of surveyed sites that had territories gradually increased from 39% in 1999, to 68% in 2000, and to an overall high of 76% in 2001. The following three years saw a steady reduction in the percentage of surveyed sites with territories until in 2004 there were no surveyed sites with territories. The most recent three years have yielded a small but steady increase in the percentage of surveyed sites with territories from 3% in 2005, to 6% in 2006, and 36% in 2007. The reason(s) for these apparent trends are not clear, but there does appear to be a cyclic nature to the occurrence of southwestern

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willow flycatcher in the San Bernardino Mountains. Ultimate factors driving the cyclic occupancy pattern are unknown at this time, but surveys in subsequent years may help to resolve this question. The primary cause for the decline of the southwestern willow flycatcher is widespread fragmentation and extensive loss of both structural components and habitat resulting from hydrological changes in low elevation cottonwood-willow riparian habitat across the species’ range (Unitt 1987). Other factors contributing to habitat losses include urban development, road development and maintenance, livestock grazing, high intensity and frequent wildfire, and human recreational activities (SBNF records, Marshall and Stoleson 2000). Additional threats include brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, replacement of native riparian vegetation by invasive non-native species, pesticide contamination, predation, water management, and probable loss of winter habitat due to tropical deforestation. In the San Bernardino Mountains, southwestern willow flycatchers and habitat at known nest sites and in suitable habitat are likely being affected by ongoing activities such as recreation use (Little Bear Springs, Holcomb Creek, Deep Creek, Santa Ana River, and Thurman Flats), water diversions and extractions (Van Dusen Creek), and road use (Jacoby Canyon, Holcomb Creek, and Santa Ana River). Potential Impacts to Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: Surveys conducted in July 2011 by Forest Service biologists determined that the mainstem of Cold Creek contains suitable habitat whereas the western tributary of Cold Creek does not. The mapped Cold Creek southwestern willow flycatcher territory exists entirely outside of the project boundaries. No direct impacts (incidental burning, cutting of riparian vegetation, etc.) to suitable habitat in mainstem Cold Creek are expected as a result of this project. Suitable habitat also occurs downstream of the project boundaries in mainstem Cold Creek, Santa Ana River, Mountain Home Creek, and Mill Creek. No other suitable habitat exists for this species within the project boundaries. Because nesting is difficult to detect and varies greatly each year, it is possible that nesting has and will occur in Cold Creek, just outside of the project footprint. For the purposes of this analysis, suitable habitat is considered occupied by nesting southwestern willow flycatchers. a) Potential Disturbance Impacts: These flycatchers generally arrive in California to nest in mid-May. No disturbance to breeding or nesting activities is expected due to Design Criteria that implements an LOP during breeding season within 500’ of any suitable habitat that has not been determined to be vacant during protocol-level surveys (suitable habitat in mainstem Cold Creek). Southwestern willow flycatchers are unlikely to be present within the Project Area outside of the breeding season. Therefore, no disturbance impacts (including mortality/injury) are anticipated for this species. b) Potential Habitat Impacts: Southwestern willow flycatcher habitat within the Project Area include: Mountain Home Creek, Mill Creek, Santa Ana River, and main stem of Cold Creek. Critical Habitat exists downstream of the project boundaries in Mill Creek and Santa Ana River. No treatments will occur within suitable habitat outside of the

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project boundaries; therefore, no direct habitat modifications will occur in suitable habitat outside of the project boundaries during project implementation.

Indirect habitat modifications could occur from management activities that affect peak flow and sediment yield in riparian systems. A significant increase in peak flows and sediment yield could cause damage to riparian vegetation, potentially to the extent that vegetation is killed or root masses are scoured out of the stream channel.

The availability of the following prey items have been identified as a Primary Constituent Element for southwestern willow flycatcher Critical Habitat: flying ants, wasps, and bees (Hymenoptera); dragonflies (Odonata); flies (Diptera); true bugs (Hemiptera); beetles (Coleoptera); butterflies/moths and caterpillars (Lepidoptera); and spittlebugs (Homoptera). Of these insect Orders, only Odonata has larval stage that is aquatic and a few species of Coleoptera have aquatic larvae (the majority of Coleoptera larvae are terrestrial).

Part II-3.4.5 describes the project-related effects to riparian and aquatic habitats. As explained in detail in this previous section, modification of aquatic habitats within and downstream of the project boundaries is anticipated to be unlikely or very unlikely to occur given adherence to project Design Criteria. To cause an effect to southwestern willow flycatcher habitat components (riparian vegetation, presence of water, prey species) one would expect to observe substantial increases in peak flow and/or sedimentation. As identified in Part II-3.4.5, substantial increases are not expected due to the incorporation of Design Criteria. Therefore, modification of suitable southwestern willow flycatcher habitat downstream of the project boundaries is not expected to occur as a result of this project. No impacts to Primary Constituent Elements (PCEs) in Mill Creek or the Santa Ana River are expected as a result of this project.

Cumulative Effects for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: No impacts to southwestern willow flycatcher or its Critical Habitat are expected as a result of this project. Therefore, no cumulative effects are anticipated either.

IV-3.1.2 Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (MYLF) (Rana muscosa) Existing Environment for Mountain Yellow-legged Frog: Mountain yellow-legged frogs are federally listed as endangered. Currently, the mountain yellow-legged frog is known from only ten locations(K. Meyer, pers. obs.) in portions of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains, primarily on National Forest System lands (67 Federal Register 44382, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2001). In southern California, mountain yellow-legged frogs inhabit perennial mountain streams (i.e., streams that contain plunge pools or backwaters year-round, although not necessarily flowing year- round) with steep gradients—often in the chaparral belt—but may range up into small meadow streams at higher elevations. Highly aquatic, they occupy rocky shaded streams with cool waters originating from springs and snowmelt. The mountain yellow-legged frog has been recognized as a distinctive species since the work of Zweifel in 1955 (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Prior to this time, the mountain

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yellow-legged frog was considered a subspecies of foothill yellow-legged frog, and the Sierran and southern California populations were considered distinct subspecies, Rana boylii sierrae and Rana boylii muscosa (Zweifel 1955). Separated by a distance of about 140 miles (225 kilometers), mountain yellow-legged frogs in the Sierra Nevada and southern California have been considered to be two geographically distinct populations (USFWS 2002a) and two distinctly different species (Vredenburg 2007). In southern California, mountain yellow-legged frogs live within and adjacent to streams that traverse chaparral, ponderosa pine, montane hardwood conifer, and montane riparian habitats. Mountain yellow-legged frogs are diurnal and highly aquatic. Mountain yellow-legged frogs are seldom found more than two or three jumps from water (Stebbins 1985). They occupy rocky shaded streams with cool waters originating from springs and snowmelt. Mountain yellow-legged frogs are generally absent from very small creeks, most possibly because these have insufficient depth for adequate refuge and over-wintering ordo not have enough water in summer months for refugia or prey species. The species occurs along a variety of shorelines but appears to prefer open stream and lake margins that gently slope to a depth of 2–3 inches (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Such shorelines are probably necessary for oviposition and thermoregulation of larvae and post- metamorphs, and may provide refuge from predation if fish occur in adjacent deeper water (Jennings and Hayes 1994). This species is never found far from water, with adults preying on a variety of invertebrates and terrestrial insects. Home ranges are thought to be not more than 10 meters in the longest dimension (Zeiner and others 1988). However, some do make large movements. Predators include garter snakes, birds, and introduced trout. On-site surveys, by FS biologists in 2008 and 2009, indicated that suitable habitat was present in Mountain Home Creek. This creek also contains modeled habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog. Mountain Home Creek contains introduced brown and rainbow trout, which prey on this frog, and several barriers to trout movement, which may lessen trout-related impacts (because barriers limit trout distribution). The presence of trout does not constitute absence for mountain yellow-legged frog, however. Mountain yellow-legged frogs historically occurred in Mountain Home Creek. Suitable and modeled habitat also exists downstream of the project site in Mill Creek. The LA County Museum has a voucher specimen from Mill Creek (specific location unknown) dated 1929. Suitable habitat possibly exists in the western tributary of Cold Creek, where it overlaps with the project footprint in the northwest quadrant of the project. This tributary is not identified as modeled habitat for this species. Forest Service biologists surveyed the western tributary of Cold Creek in July 2011. Water was present from Hwy 38 downstream to the confluence with mainstem Cold Creek. Numerous small pools were present during the July survey (estimated average of 1.5’ deep and 2.5’ wide). Riffles between pools were shallow, ranging from about 3 to 6” deep. It was determined that

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the western tributary of Cold Creek is currently capable of supporting mountain yellow- legged frogs. However, because the winter of 2010/2011 brought an above-average amount of precipitation, it is very likely that this small tributary does not contain water year-round, and therefore does not support mountain yellow-legged frogs. Per project Design Criteria, the western tributary of Cold Creek will be surveyed for suitability in 2012 prior to project implementation in the northeastern project units near this tributary. Suitable habitat exists in the mainstem of Cold Creek. The mainstem of Cold Creek contains modeled habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog. Map B-3 shows a small amount of modeled habitat within the project boundaries, however, this is only a result of the modeled habitat buffers used in ArcGIS. No suitable habitat within mainstem Cold Creek occurs within the project footprint. Suitable and modeled habitat also exists downstream of the project site in the Santa Ana River. No designated Critical Habitat for mountain yellow-legged frogs occurs in the Project Area. Although recent surveys failed to locate mountain yellow-legged frogs in the Project Area, this species cannot be considered to be absent from the Project Area due to the difficulty in conducting comprehensive survey for this species (because of terrain and extent of suitable habitat). Thus, surveys conducted for this project were not comprehensive and were not repeated often enough. It is possible that remnant populations of mountain yellow-legged frogs may exist. Baseline Conditions for Mountain Yellow-legged Frog: Only ten populations of mountain yellow-legged frogs are confirmed to exist throughout its historic range in southern California. Recent surveys by Biological Resource Specialists (2001), the CDFG (Rodriquez 2003), Holland (1998), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS 2002) failed to locate any extant mountain yellow-legged frogs in the Upper Santa Ana watershed, except for the City Creek occurrence however, most creeks in this area have not been surveyed. However, considering records of occurrences since 1990, three sites on the San Bernardino Mountains are currently considered occupied (as defined in the Riparian Obligate Ongoing Effects Consultation 2008) by mountain yellow-legged frogs: City Creek, East Fork of Barton Creek, and Mill Creek. While it is considered unlikely that they still occur in the East Fork of Barton Creek and Mill Creek sicne they were not locatedin recent surveys, it is possible that mountain yellow-legged frogs still exist at least in small numbers or in portions of those creeks and/or their tributaries. Surveys have been completed in at least portions of each of these creeks at least once. Where mountain yellow-legged frogs occur in larger numbers, detection probabilities are high if surveys are conducted by qualified individuals in the right season (Backlin et al. 2004). In the San Bernardino Mountains, mountain yellow-legged frogs are currently known to occur in the East Fork of City Creek. Surveys conducted by USGS and cooperators in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 revealed mountain yellow-legged frogs in City Creek and the East Fork of City Creek and the drainages had high quality habitat, including

Part IV 120 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project plunge pools, aquatic refugia, and basking areas (Backlin et al. 2001, Compton et al. 2003, Schuster et al. 2005, Meyer and Abbas 2006, and Gallegos et al. 2008). USGS conducted 3 and 4 monitoring surveys for mountain yellow-legged frog in the East Fork of City Creek in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Surveys were also conducted in the mainstem City Creek in both years and in the West Fork City Creek in 2010 during these surveys. Only a single adult male frog was located on multiple locations in the East Fork City Creek during these surveys. In the San Bernardino Mountains, mountain yellow-legged frogs were thought to be extinct in the East Fork of City Creek in 1998. Upon its discovery and subsequent monitoring, East Fork City Creek was found to be one of the largest remaining populations of mountain yellow-legged frogs in southern California. A flood event following a large wildfire in 2003 significantly reduced the mountain yellow-legged frog population size in this stream. Surveys conducted in 2004 and through most of 2005 failed to detect any mountain yellow-legged frogs. In September 2005, during surveysconducted by the FS and USGS, eleven metamorphs and one adult male were found in the East Fork City Creek at and above the Schenk Creek confluence. In 2006, surveys continued and four adults were also discovered. Fewer frogs were found in subsequent surveys and results from surveys in 2009 and 2010 suggest that only a few individuals have survived since the Bridge and Old fires in 2003, and subsequent flood/scour events dramatically changed the watershed conditions (K. Meyer, pers. obs.). As such, in 2011, the single adult male frog identified in City Creek in 2009 and 2010 was taken into captivity and is currently being held at the San Diego Zoo. This frog will be used to start a captive breeding population of mountain yellow-legged frogs. He will either be breed with frogs collected from City Creek over the next year (if found) or with frogs from the San Jacinto Mountains if no City Creek female frogs are located. The causes of the decline of mountain yellow-legged frog are not known, but likely include numerous factors including: 1) Past habitat destruction related to activities such as logging, mining, and habitat conversions for water development, irrigated agriculture, and commercial development; 2) non-native predators and competitors such as introduced trout and bullfrogs; 3) disease outbreaks (e.g. Bd); 4) flood events; 5) pesticides; 6) ultraviolet B radiation; 7) nitrate deposits; and 8) lack of connectivity, especially in the San Bernardino National Forest. However, in the case of the southern populations of mountain yellow-legged frog, habitat destruction related to activities such as logging and commercial development does not appear to have been a significant factor in their precipitous decline because these activities were not prominent in mountain yellow-legged frog habitat in southern California. There does, however, appear to be a negative interaction between trout and mountain yellow-legged frog (Backlin et al. 2004). Other environmental factors that may adversely affect mountain yellow-legged frog include pesticides, certain pathogens, ultraviolet-B (beyond the visible spectrum) radiation, or a combination of these factors (67 Federal Register 44382). Nitrate pulses into the system during summer rainstorms may also impact first-year tadpole survivorship (Backlin et al. 2004) and prevented populations from persisting over time. Flooding in the late 1960s may have also caused a widespread decline of mountain yellow-legged frog in southern California. Other

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factors, including those listed above may have cumulatively prevented the recovery of the frog. Chytrid fungus is also thought to be a potential contributing factor to the decline of this and many other amphibian species. Extant populations of mountain yellow-legged frog are increasingly isolated from each other. The few remaining populations of mountain yellow-legged frog are small and have limited distribution making them extremely vulnerable to stochastic events. Past and ongoing projects in occupied or Critical Habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog in the San Bernardino Mountains are relatively minimal. The 2008 Riparian BA contains detailed information regarding past and ongoing activities that potentially affect occupied/Critical Habitat in the City Creek Watershed, East Fork Barton Creek, and Mill Creek. Recently, in the winter of 2010/2011, substantial precipitation caused failures due to lack of culvert maintenance along Highway 330. Repairs to the highway were authorized by the SBNF and completed by June 2011. While repairs to the highway caused adverse impacts to occupied and Critical Habitat in the City Creek watershed, the most substantial impacts likely resulted from the failures and above-normal rainfall. The SBNF intends to conduct emergency consultation with FWS over the project, but this has not been done yet. Adverse impacts resulting from these events are not well defined at this time (K. Boss and K. Meyer, pers. obs.). Potential Project-related Impacts to Mountain Yellow-legged Frog: See Figure B-3 for a map of modeled habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog in the Project Area. a) Potential Disturbance and Habitat Impacts within Project Boundaries: Project-related activities in suitable habitat within the project footprint could potentially impact frogs, if present. Hydrologic changes that could cause injury/mortality to mountain yellow- legged frogs include suffocation of egg masses and larvae from increased sedimentation and increased flows with the velocity to sweep individuals downstream. Adverse modification to mountain yellow-legged frog habitat within the project footprint can include filling of pools, scouring of vegetation which reduces cover and shade, change in water quality, etc. Runoff from the Project Area could also affect water quality by transporting ash into stream systems. The only stream within the project footprint that may be suitable for mountain yellow- legged frog is the western tributary of Cold Creek. Per project Design Criteria, pre- implementation suitability surveys will be conducted for mountain yellow-legged frog in the western tributary to Cold Creek. If found to be suitable, an LOP during the active season for mountain yellow-legged frogs will be in place within 500’ of the western tributary of Cold Creek to prevent disturbance impacts. Also, if suitable, Design Criteria prevents project activities from occurring within the mapped RCA to protect adults and tadpoles that may be present. An exception will be made where the RCA is within 100 to 300 feet of private property, where the RCA will be treated by hand only. A hydrologist will guide installation of erosion control structures to minimize erosion resulting from hand treatments within the RCA.

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Part II-3.4.5 describes the project-related effects to riparian and aquatic habitats. As explained in detail in this previous section, modification of aquatic habitats within the project boundaries is anticipated to be unlikely or very unlikely to occur given adherence to project Design Criteria. Therefore, no disturbance impacts (including injury or mortality) to potential individual frogs in the western tributary to Cold Creek are expected as a result of this project. Due to the incorporation of Design Criteria, modification of suitable mountain yellow-legged frog habitat within the project boundaries (western tributary of Cold Creek) is anticipated to be both insignificant and extremely unlikely. b) Potential Disturbance and Habitat Impacts outside/downstream of Project Boundaries: Although there is no known occupied habitat in the Project Area, suitable habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog exists outside/downstream of the project footprint. Suitable areas downstream of the project boundaries include mainstem Cold Creek, Santa Ana River, Mountain Home Creek, and Mill Creek. If frogs are present downstream of the project footprint, and have not been detected, they may be susceptible to hydrologic changes as a result of our activities. Possible disturbance and habitat changes resulting from the Proposed Action are identified in the previous section. Part II-3.4.5 describes the project-related effects to riparian and aquatic habitats. As explained in detail in this previous section, modification of aquatic habitats within and downstream of the project boundaries is anticipated to be unlikely or very unlikely to occur given adherence to project Design Criteria. Therefore, due to the incorporation of Design Criteria, injury and/or mortality to mountain yellow-legged frogs downstream of the project boundaries (resultant from project activities) is considered to be very unlikely to occur. Additionally, due to the incorporation of Design Criteria, measurable modifications to mountain yellow-legged frog suitable habitat downstream of the project boundaries are not expected as a result of this project. Modification of suitable mountain yellow-legged frog suitable habitat downstream of the project boundaries is anticipated to be both insignificant and extremely unlikely. Cumulative Effects for Mountain Yellow-legged Frog: See Parts II-3.1 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. Past and ongoing activities are disclosed in the baseline conditions section above. There is one current or planned federal project in occupied mountain yellow-legged frog habitat or Critical Habitat in the San Bernardino Mountains, Mill Creek Invasive Plant Treatment. The general objective of this project is to eradicate non-native plants within the watershed. An analysis has not been completed, but long-term beneficial impacts to mountain yellow-legged frog habitat are anticipated as a result of project implementation. Modeling for the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project indicates that there will be extremely minor impacts to Mill Creek at outlet WS3 (less than 1% increase in peak flows and sediment yield) without mitigation. Part II-3.4.5 disclosed the probabilities of modification of biological and morphological stream conditions. All possible changes were rated “very unlikely to occur” in Mountain Home Creek by the

Part IV 123 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project project hydrologists. Therefore, the probability of habitat modification occurring in Mill Creek (further downstream of Mountain Home Creek) is probably non-existent. Implementation of the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn project is not expected to cumulatively affect occupied habitat in Mill Creek. Furthermore, the other two locations of occupied/Critical Habitat for mountain yellow-legged frogs in the San Bernardino Mountains (City Creek and East Fork Barton Creek) are outside of the affected Project Area for this project. Implementation of the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn project is not expected to cumulatively affect any habitat in the San Bernardino Mountains that is considered to be occupied or Designated Critical Habitat for mountain yellow-legged frogs. Many of the Forest Service fuels reduction activities and other land management projects that are in progress or planned for the foreseeable future have potential to impact suitable habitat for mountain yellow-legged frogs. This species was once common across the SBNF so suitable habitat is relatively extensive. Current and potential future vegetation management activities on National Forest System (NFS) lands do and would include RCAs and Design Criteria to limit impacts to suitable habitat for mountain yellow-legged frog. The lack of habitat connectivity greatly impacts frogs on the SBNF. In the past, the streams on the SBNF connected with suitable habitat at the base of the mountains. Now, however, once these drainages leave the Forest, they are almost entirely channelized with concrete. When large wild fires and subsequent floods events do occur, aquatic species are (in danger of being) flushed out of their habitat, and are not able to repopulate from adjacent drainages even if those drainages were not affected by fires and flooding. The proposed Angelus Oaks Understory Burn project will not affect connectivity of suitable mountain yellow-legged frog habitat on the SBNF. Large, high-intensity wildland fires and subsequent flooding are probably the biggest threat to the remaining populations of mountain yellow-legged frogs across their range in southern California. Implementation of the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn project will reduce the likelihood of high intensity wildlfire within the Project Area. Locally, this project will benefit suitable habitat for this species. In addition to the SBNF, similar types of projects are being implemented by SCE, Caltrans, NRCS, and other agencies. Similar vegetation/fuels projects on private lands may not carry the same levels of mountain yellow-legged frog suitable habitat protection as those on the SBNF, but it is likely that some effort is being made to preserve suitable riparian habitat. However, it is possible that project implementation on private lands has resulted in disturbance to mountain yellow-legged frog suitable habitat, both short term and, potentially, long term alterations of habitat. The level of impacts and habitat alteration/losses from projects conducted on private land is unknown and likely varies by land ownership. All of these current and future projects have some potential to result in losses of individuals and some degradation of habitat quality. The Angelus Oaks Understory Burn project is not expected to add measurably to the reasonably foreseeable impacts to this species or its habitat in the San Bernardino Mountains.

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IV-3.1.2 Santa Ana Sucker Existing Environment for Santa Ana Sucker: Santa Ana suckers historically occurred in low-elevation streams in the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana River systems (Swift and others 1993). They also historically occurred in the upper Santa Ana River, on Cajon and City Creeks in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, and in Santiago Creek in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains (Moyle and others 1995).

Santa Ana suckers typically inhabit small, shallow streams and rivers less than 23 feet (7 meters) wide where water temperature is generally below 72 º F (22 º C), and where currents range from swift to sluggish (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2000). Santa Ana suckers tolerate seasonally turbid water, although they prefer clear water and are often found in pools. Santa Ana suckers in the West Fork of the San Gabriel River prefer coarse substrates consisting of gravel, rubble, and boulders, but will inhabit areas with mud or sand. Adults show a strong preference for run habitat and a water depth of 40 cm and greater. Juveniles prefer riffle and run habitat, depths greater than 30 cm and gravel substrate (Haglund and Baskin 2002). In the same study conducted in 2002, fry were found exclusively in edgewater habitat over silt at depths of less than 17 cm where there was no measurable flow (Haglund and Baskin 2002). They feed primarily on algae and detritus, most of which they scrape from rocks (Greenfield and others 1970).

Santa Ana suckers will inhabit any area of the stream, and do not require overhead cover when large deep pools and riffles are present. The systems occupied by these fish undergo flashy, high flows that can reduce population abundance and distribution. Natural upstream and downstream movement depends on habitat conditions.

Sexual maturity of Santa Ana suckers occurs by the first year, and they continue to spawn to age 2. Neither males nor females show spawning coloration, and the sex ratio is typically 1:1. Spawning takes place in March–early July, peaking in late May–early June. Fecundity is very high (4,000–16,000 eggs depending on the size of the female). Along with a protracted spawning period, high fecundity enables fish to quickly repopulate a stream after a severe flood event. They spawn over gravel riffles where fertilized eggs adhere to the substrate. Eggs hatch within 15 days (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2000, Moyle 2002, Mobyle and others 1995).

Designated Critical Habitat exists in the Santa Ana River for Santa Ana sucker below the Seven Oaks Dam. Known occupied habitat exists a substantial distance downstream of the Forest boundary. Given that the distance between the project location and the dam is over 7 miles downstream (and the occupied habitat even farther) the Designated Critical Habitat and occupied habitat in the Santa Ana River is not considered to be within the Project Area as defined in this document. Designated Critical Habitat exists in Mill Creek for the Santa Ana sucker (approximately 3 miles downstream of the project site. There is no known occupied habitat within Mill Creek for Santa Ana sucker.

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The Primary Constituent Elements (PCEs) of Designated Critical Habitat for Santa Ana sucker are as follows (USFWS 2010): (1) A functioning hydrological system within the historical geographic range of Santa Ana sucker that experiences peaks and ebbs in the water volume (either naturally or regulated) that encompasses areas that provide or contain sources of water and coarse sediment necessary to maintain all life stages of the species, including adults, juveniles, larvae, and eggs, in the riverine environment;

(2) Stream channel substrate consisting of a mosaic of loose sand, gravel, cobble, and boulder substrates in a series of riffles, runs, pools, and shallow sandy stream margins necessary to maintain various life stages of the species, including adults, juveniles, larvae, and eggs, in the riverine environment;

(3) Water depths greater than 1.2 in (3 cm) and bottom water velocities greater than 0.01 ft per second (0.03 m per second);

(4) Clear or only occasionally turbid water;

(5) Water temperatures less than 86 °F (30 °C);

(6) Instream habitat that includes food sources (such as zooplankton, phytoplankton, and aquatic invertebrates), and associated vegetation such as aquatic emergent vegetation and adjacent riparian vegetation to provide: • Shading to reduce water temperature when ambient temperatures are high, • Shelter during periods of high water velocity, and (c) protective cover from predators; and

(7) Areas within perennial stream courses that may be periodically dewatered, but that serve as connective corridors between occupied or seasonally occupied habitat and through which the species may move when the habitat is wetted.

Baseline Conditions for Santa Ana Sucker: Streams on the Angeles National Forest are the last strongholds for the remaining Santa Ana sucker. The few remaining populations require site-specific management. The primary threats to existing small populations are habitat fragmentation, habitat degradation, streamflow alterations, and introduced species. Mining activities, such as suction dredging in the upper San Gabriel River, have been implicated in the decline of Santa Ana sucker in Cattle Canyon (Moyle and others 1995). Heavy recreational use and building of "recreational dams" to pool water for instream water play may also contribute to the decline of the species in the East Fork San Gabriel River (Hyde-Sato pers. comm.). The populations of Santa Ana suckers in the San Gabriel River OHV Area decreased between fall 2000 and fall 2001, as noted during field studies conducted on the West Fork of the San Gabriel River on the Angeles National Forest (Haglund and Baskin 2002). Although the data set was not robust and there were many variables during these field studies on the West Fork of the San Gabriel River, there was no evidence that the intensity of the OHV use in the San

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Gabriel River OHV Area has any relationship to the fish populations (Haglund and Baskin 2002).

Variable and sometimes extreme releases of water from Big Tujunga and Cogswell Reservoirs are constant threats to sucker populations on Big Tujunga Creek and the west fork of the San Gabriel River (Moyle and others 1995). Red shiners, which have been introduced into Big Tujunga Creek, are potential egg predators, and green sunfish are likely to prey on juveniles. The elimination of Santa Ana suckers from the upper Santa Ana River in the San Bernardino Mountains is largely attributed to predation by introduced brown trout (Moyle and others 1995) and inadequate water supply (Hyde- Sato pers. comm.). The West, North, and East Forks of the San Gabriel River are identified as the best remaining habitat for Santa Ana suckers (Moyle and others 1995).

Potential Project-related Impacts for Santa Ana Sucker: There are no known or historicoccurrences of Santa Ana sucker in Mill Creek. Disturbance, mortality, and injury to suckers are not anticipated as a result of this project. Modeling for expected peak flows and sediment yield resulting from the project was conducted at four outlet points downstream of the project boundaries (see Figure B-6). The Project Soils and Hydrology Report (Geomorphis 2011) determined that the Proposed Action would cause a very small percentage (less than 1 percent) increase in at the outlet (WS3) in Mill Creek. It is important to note that modeling conducted for this project was not corrected by any mitigation. Designation of RCAs and adherence to BMPs are expected to further reduce the runoff and sediment yield within and downstream of the Project Area. Furthermore, existing riparian canopy provides a source of large woody debris for input into streams. This is important in maintaining habitat complexity for resident aquatic species in the form of pool habitat, breeding habitat, and escape cover. The trees in riparian areas provide stream bank stabilization via root masses. Given that treatments are predicted to have little to no effect Mill Creek (less than 1 percent without mitigation), no measurable changes to Santa Ana sucker Critical Habitat PCEs are anticipated. Cumulative Impacts for Santa Ana Sucker: No impacts to Santa Ana sucker or its Critical Habitat are expected as a result of this project. Therefore, no cumulative effects will occur.

IV-3.2 Threatened and Endangered Wildlife - Potential Effects of No Action The discussion in Part II-3.5 (Impacts of No Action) describes the potential impacts to riparian-dependent species, such as mountain yellow-legged frog and southwestern willow flycatcher and to riparian habitat if the Project Area were left untreated. Parts of that discussion is repeated below, with a focus on riparian species and habitat If the area is left untreated, wildlife in the Project Area would experience lower levels of disturbance, both to individuals and to habitats important for foraging, movement, shelter, migration, wintering, and breeding than they would under the Proposed Action.

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Under the No Action alternative, no management actions would occur in the Project Area. According to the analysis as described in the Angelus Oaks Silviculture Report (2010), the direct effect of the area not being treated is that sprouting and growth of brush species will eventually create fuel conditions that will negate much of the recent fuel reduction work already completed in the Project Area. Strategic defensible firefighting zones would be reduced or compromised. The potential for stand-replacing wildfire may be increased, as is the potential for the associated loss of maintaining essential forest structure, including riparian areas, required by some wildlife species. Moderate to high-severity fires would be expected to remove much of the overstory and understory (depending on weather and wind conditions) and, possibly, spread into riparian corridors.

IV-4.0 DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS FOR T/E SPECIES

Federally-listed Species and Designated Critical Habitat: Southwestern Willow Flycatcher It is our determination that the Angelus Oaks Prescribed Burn Project will not affect southwestern willow flycatcher. It is our determination that the Angelus Oaks Prescribed Burn Project will not affect Designated Critical Habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher. Mountain Yellow-legged Frog It is our determination that the Angelus Oaks Prescribed Burn Project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, mountain yellow-legged frog. Santa Ana Sucker It is our determination that the Angelus Oaks Prescribed Burn Project will not affect Santa Ana Sucker or its Designated Critical Habitat. Species Proposed for Federal Listing or Proposed Critical Habitat: There is no proposed Critical Habitat in the Project Area, and no fish or wildlife proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act occur in or near the Project Area. No Critical Habitat downstream of the Project Area will is expected to be impacted as part of this project. Consultation Requirements: The USFWS counterpart regulations for National Fire Plan projects, under the authority of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, allow the Forest Service to make the determination without USFWS concurrence. However, the San Bernardino National Forest – Front Country Ranger District wishes to informally consult with the USFWS on the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project.

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PART V: PROJECT-LEVEL ASSESSMENT TO WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES

V-1.0 INTRODUCTION

Management indicator species (MIS) are selected because their population changes are believed to indicate the effects of management activities (36 CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] 219.19(a)(1), 1982) and to serve as a focus for monitoring (36 CFR 219(a)(6), 1982). The regulation (1982 Planning Rule) required the selection of vertebrate and/or invertebrate species as MIS but did not preclude the selection of other life forms. Vascular plants are included as MIS because these species are often wide- ranging and responsive to landscape-level stressors. The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed project on MIS identified in the 2005 San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan. The rationale for MIS species selection is presented in Appendix B of the LMP FEIS. MIS accounts have been developed for each of the MIS on the San Bernardino National Forest. The accounts contain detailed information on baseline conditions, species status and trend, and habitat status and trend based on the most current information on life history, habitat relationships, past and present suitable habitat, and population information. They also discuss the methodology used for assessing status and trends (e.g., breeding bird surveys, Forest Inventory Assessment data).These MIS accounts are incorporated by reference into this document. Literature cited as contained in the MIS accounts (and summarized in this document) are not included in the literature cited section of this document. These references are available hard copy in the project file located at the District Office.

V-2.0 WILDLIFE MIS SELECTED FOR PROJECT ANALYSIS

A number of wildlife MIS are known or expected to occur within the Project Area. Botanical MIS will be addressed in a report prepared by the District Botanist. The potential impacts to wildlife MIS that are known to occur and those that have a high probability of occurring in the Project Area are discussed in detail in this report. The wildlife species in Table 7 were all considered during this evaluation of potential effects for this project. If outside the known distribution or suitable habitat is not present (identified with an “N” in Table 7), such species will not be further addressed in this document. Part II contains discussions on general impacts to general animals; some of those general impacts also apply to MIS animals.

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Table 7. Management Indicator Species Selection and Monitoring Information

Manage- Habitat Type Issue Objectives Monitoring Method Measure Occurrenc ment e in Indicator Project Species Area Mule deer All Vegetation Diversity and Age Class Stable or increasing Herd composition in Trend in abundance Y Mosaics; Roads and Recreation well-distributed cooperation with and/or habitat Effects populations CDFG; habitat condition condition Mountain All Habitat Linkages/Habitat Functional landscape Studies in cooperation Trend in distribution, Y lion Fragmentation linkages; species well- with CDFG and USGS movement, and/or distributed habitat conditions Song Aquatic and Ground Disturbance including Stable or increasing Riparian bird species Trend in abundance Y sparrow Riparian trampling and compaction; spread of populations; healthy point counts and/or and/or habitat invasive non-native species;mortality riparian habitat habitat condition condition from collision; altered stream flow regimes California Mixed Conifer Altered fire regimes (fire severity Maintain/increase FS Region 5, CDFG Occupied territories Y spotted Forests and/or fire return interval) numbers and protocol and/or habitat owl distribution condition *See District Botanist’s MIS Report for analysis of MIS tree species.

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V-3.0 MIS ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS

Life history and general habitat requirements for MIS are presented in the Reading Room accompanying the Forest Plan (USDA Forest Service 2005a). This section documents known information about MIS occurrence within or near the Project Area, population trends over time, and the amount of potentially available and affected suitable habitat, and it discusses the potential effects of implementing the proposed project. Baseline information for each of the MIS is contained in the LMP Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (p. 123 and table 433 on p. 177) and in the more detailed MIS accounts and is only summarized here. These other documents are incorporated by reference and the information within them is the basis for the following discussions and analyses. See Part II-3.1 for an explanation of Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Effects. That section also contains discussions about present and foreseeable future projects that are considered in the Cumulative Effects discussions for each species. The discussion of the impacts of the No Action alternative in Part II-3.5 is applicable for any species that occur in the Project Area.

V-3.1 Mule Deer The mule deer was selected as an MIS for forest health related to vegetation management, roads, and associated recreation management. Trends in mule deer populations can be monitored through cooperation with the CDFG in their ongoing surveys. Observed changes in mule deer abundance are not due entirely to the effects of Forest Service activities and uses. This lack of a precise cause-and-effect relationship is due to the complex interrelationships among deer herd size, hunting pressure, human developments and roads, and vegetation management practices on private and public wildlands. The desired condition for mule deer is that habitat functions are maintained or improved, including primary feeding areas, winter ranges, breeding areas, birthing areas, rearing areas, migration corridors, and landscape linkages (LMP, Part 1, p.45). The objective for mule deer is that there are stable or increasing well-distributed populations. Trends in abundance and/or habitat condition are to be used for measuring populations. Populations are to be monitored by herd composition counts in cooperation with CDFG or by habitat condition (LMP FEIS, Vol. 1. p. 177, Table 433). The Forest Service recognizes that mule deer population trends in the National Forests depend in large part on Forest Service vegetation and road management activities. Because maintaining suitable mule deer habitat is an important management objective for the National Forests of southern California, it is important for the Forest Service to engage in interagency monitoring efforts of deer population abundance and habitat condition. In addition, mule deer can be used to evaluate the effects of the different strategies in the LMP alternatives for vegetation and road management. The LMP desired condition to maintain or improve habitat conditions to sustain healthy deer populations can be supported by retaining oak canopy cover in oak woodlands and

Part V 131 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project managing chaparral areas near water sources to create irregular shapes to maximize cover and forage opportunities. Fire and fuel management are the main tools intended to implement these objectives. A continuing mule deer habitat management goal is to conduct mosaic burning that keeps a continual supply of high-quality forage in close proximity to cover in mule deer home ranges. Human disturbance near communities reduces the benefits that mule deer might otherwise gain from community protection prescribed burn projects. The emphasis on community protection fuel treatments has also deferred some of the chaparral prescribed burning opportunities for wildlife. Most chaparral is burned in large, high-intensity wildfires that reduce the amount of cover below desirable levels. These fires result in large amounts of early successional forage for a few years after the fire. When the vegetation matures, the forage quality declines until the area burns again, generally in another large, high-intensity fire. The cycle then repeats itself. Mule deer habitat quality in forest vegetation types has continued to decline because of lack of fire in most areas. Lack of fire has resulted in stand densification in many cases, which results in decline of shrub and herbaceous species that deer use as food. Stand densification also has favored white fir and incense cedar at the expense of black oak, which is an extremely valuable mast crop (acorn) producer (CDFG 2002). This has serious long-term consequences for deer and other mast-dependent species. Riparian areas and meadows, which are critical for fawning, are affected by disturbance associated with high levels of recreation use. These areas are sought out by both mule deer and recreationists. Some locations across the national forests have had vehicle access reduced by road closure and seasonal campground closures, which has benefited mule deer. Road and motorized trail densities have continued to increase, primarily because of unauthorized vehicle use in some areas, since the last forest plans were written. Some unauthorized roads have been closed in critical areas since the last plans were written, but unauthorized roads are still a major problem in some key fawning areas and key winter ranges. Urban development within and adjacent to the national forests continues to adversely affect mule deer numbers, which are generally low adjacent to communities due to the amount of human and dog use. Feral dogs and domesticated dogs that are allowed to run loose chase mule deer and kill fawns. Mule deer prefer a mosaic of vegetation with interspersions of dense shrub or trees among herbaceous and riparian areas. Edge habitat and vegetation ecotones are important components for optimal deer habitat. Dense shrub and trees provide hiding cover from disturbance and predation. Shrub and tree canopies are also utilized for thermal cover during the winter and temperature regulation during summer months. Mule deer prefer to browse new growth of shrubs, which provides a more easily digestible nutrient source, in addition to forbs and some grasses. Acorns (mast) are an important part of the fall diet. Fawning occurs in fairly dense shrub and thicket with the additional requirement of close proximity to surface water. Ranges of fawn and doe groups are small, varying from 0.4 to 1.9 miles depending upon water availability and

Part V 132 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project topography. Deer will migrate down slope in winter to areas with less than 18 inches of snow. See the detailed MIS account for this species for more detailed information regarding life history, habitat conditions, and population trends on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-3.1.1 Environmental Baseline for Mule Deer Mule deer populations across California and in southern California have declined from high levels in the early 1960s because of many factors. A sustained low survival rate of fawns is suspected as a major factor in the deer population decline. Factors thought to be contributing to the low survival rate of fawns include changes in the amount and distribution of vegetation and age classes, private land development adjacent to and within the national forests, recreational use in key areas, lack of frequent small fires, and an increase in mountain lion predation. Severe drought cycles, which affect vegetation and water sources over several years, may also contribute to declines. The four southern California National Forests support most of the mule deer in the southern part of the state. These populations provide important hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities. The National Forests do not conduct their own individual population surveys but cooperate with the CDFG in their survey efforts. The SBNF contains three distinct deer herds, all within Deer Assessment Unit (DAU)-7. Overall, the DAU-7 deer population is considered to be decreasing by the CDFG (Table 8). The DAU-7 population appears to be exhibiting a declining trend from 20,000 in 1996 to 10,000 in 2004 (Table 9). During that period, the population varied between approximately 22,000 in 2001 to approximately 7,500 in 2003. Table 8. Mule Deer Population Trend for DAUs Covering the SBNF

DAU Name Hunting Zones Forests Population Trend1 DAU 7 South D-11, D-14, D-15, D-16, and San Bernardino, Declining Coast D19 Cleveland, Angeles 1 CDFG 2003

Mule deer in the Project Area are part of the San Bernardino Deer Herd. The Project Area is located in Deer Zone D-14, which covers the San Bernardino Mountains (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/deer/deerhunt.html). Population estimates were made for the San Bernardino Mountains by the CDFG as follows: Table 9. Mule Deer 2004 Population Estimates

Hunt Zone DAU National Forest Estimated 2004 pre-hunting season population1 D-11 DAU 7 Angeles, San Bernardino 3,440 D-14 DAU 7 San Bernardino 1,610 D-19 DAU 7 San Bernardino 950 1 USFS 2005

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The deer populations in Zone D-14 are generally considered stable to slightly declining, yet considerably below levels seen in the late 1960s and 1970s. As with most deer herds in California and other western states, the long-term population trend has been on a steady decline since the 1960s and 1970s. These long-term declines have been due to land management practices that have precluded fire, resulting in changes toward more mature and less diverse habitats, and reduced quality and quantity of deer habitats. Short-term fluctuations in deer populations are usually attributed to weather events that affect forage production (CDFG 2005). The deer population in the San Bernardino Mountains (D-14) appears to have been declining in recent years. The severe drought in the early 2000s has undoubtedly affected this herd. Many streams and springs that had always been thought to be perennial dried up during this period. Forage quantity and quality was severely affected. Recent fires in the last decade have improved forage conditions, so that if normal rainfall occurs, deer productivity should increase for some time. A substantial amount of fuels work has taken place in the mountain range and this should benefit deer. The benefits are not as great as would be expected if the work was taking place further away from communities. The subspecies of deer inhabiting Zone D-14 is the California mule deer. Deer in this zone are considered resident deer. That is, their movement is up and down the slopes only, and they do not make long seasonal migrations. The deer in this area generally move to higher elevations in late spring and will remain there until the first heavy fall storms force them down below the snow line. The vegetation is highly varied throughout Zone D-14 ranging from chaparral, high desert scrub, and pine forests to sub-alpine meadows. Generally speaking, deer populations in this area respond favorably to vegetation disturbances that enhance brush species (wildfire and timber harvesting). Riparian areas, recently burned areas, or clear cuts that have resprouted with brush provide good habitat for deer. Areas where oaks are producing acorns may also attract deer. Typically, lower densities of deer are observed in the more densely forested areas or in older, denser, shrublands (CDFG 2005). The Project Area contains suitable habitat for mule deer. There is a relatively high abundance of year-round water and good cover in much of the Project Area. The hunt records since 1998 for D-14 are used to evaluate the population trend in the area (Table 10 and the following graph, Figure 6). CDFG records for the D-14 zone are displayed in Table 10 below: Table 10. Deer Kill Records for Zone D-14

Year Total Deer Kill 1998 157 1999 112 2000 209 2001 159 2002 65 2003 90 2004 162

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2005 144 2006 156 2007 119 2008 153 2009 111 From CDFG website for each year’s hunt data (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/deer/deerhunt.html) The number of deer taken during the hunting season, used to represent population status, appears to be relatively stable over time. If the low numbers in 2002 and 2003 (due to extreme drought) are discounted, it appears that the populations in the hunt zone have some fluctuations but are even more stable.

Figure 6. Total Deer Kill for Zone D-14

Since these status records are for the entire hunt zone, it is difficult to assess the situation within the Project Area alone. It is likely that the deer populations within the Project Area are experiencing the same general trend seen by CDFG in the D-14 zones. Temporary increases in populations may have occurred after the 2003 fires in response to early-successional vegetation.

V-3.1.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – Mule Deer The discussion in Part II-3.5 is applicable for mule deer. Under the No Action alternative, no management actions would occur in the Project Area. If the area is left untreated, the wildlife species in the Project Area would experience lower levels of disturbance, both to individuals and to habitats important for

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foraging, movement, shelter, migration, wintering, and breeding than they would under the Proposed Action. Coniferous tree stocking levels will increase as trees grow and seedlings become established in the stands. Within 10 to 15 years’ time, brush sprouting and seedling ingrowth will create conditions that exceed desired levels for meeting deer management objectives (forage and shelter). If left untreated, the Project Area may be at a higher risk of larger wildfires with more intense fire behavior. Moderate to high-severity fires could be expected to remove much of the overstory and understory (depending on weather and wind conditions). Patch sizes of burned areas may be large, but would be dependent on conditions at the time of the fire. The above scenario could result in mortality and injury to mule deer. The extent and degree of impacts vary within a landscape in any given fire. Generally, mosaic patterns occur with some habitat retention amid areas that burned at high severities. Even after fire, some species, such as early successional stage species like mule deer and their predators, initially benefit from habitat changes resulting from fires. However, a future wildfire with higher resistance to control could result in direct wildlife mortality and increased impacts from intensive suppression efforts (e.g., dozer lines) to which rare wildlife species generally have lower resilience.

V-3.1.3 Potential Impacts of Proposed Action – Mule Deer No mortality to mule deer is expected as a result of this project because deer are a highly mobile species capable of fleeing from low intensity fire as prescribed in the project design. Brush cutting may produce visual activity and noise above 65 decibels (normal human voice is rated at 65 decibels), which could displace deer to adjacent areas outside the project treatment boundaries. Due to the large amount of suitable habitat outside the treatment areas, it is expected that deer will shift to areas without ongoing fuel activities with limited adverse effect. Implementing the project during hunting season may result in further stress to individuals, especially bucks (since D-14 are bucks-only hunt zones). However, only limited hunting is expected to occur within the Project Area due to its close proximity to structures and recreation facilities. Design Criteria that provide protection of riparian and meadow habitats would help provide some areas with lower levels of disturbance, including important fawning, browse, and movement corridor areas. Human disturbance has greater potential for adverse effects on non-migratory deer during winter months when they are more vulnerable to stress-initiated cortisol increases. As was discussed previously in this document, the Project Area receives a very high level of disturbance impacts including hikers, picnickers, and residents in the area. The project would result in an opening up of habitat, making it more accessible and increasing the use of the area by people (e.g., hikers, mountain biking, dogs, equestrians, etc.) and unauthorized motorized vehicles. Thus, an increase in disturbance to deer would be expected in the areas near the private land boundaries and along roads. Regardless, there is ample suitable habitat nearby the project for displacement.

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At present, chaparral in the Project Area is mid-succession. CDFG biologists believe that lack of habitat disturbance, especially from fire, has diminished habitat value for deer across much of the state’s forested areas, contributing to the overall state decline in mule deer populations (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/deer/index.htm). They describe how much of the early successional vegetation created since the start of the Gold Rush in 1849 has been replaced by forage-limited, second-growth forest (Leopold 1950) and by decadent shrub fields dominated by unavailable or low quality browse having little herbaceous vegetation (Salwasser et al. 1978, Storer 1932). The CDFG recommends more planning efforts by the Forest Service to promote mosaic patterns of habitats in order to provide long-term habitat availability. Under the Proposed Action, the number of small diameter trees and shrubs would be reduced. Thinning of small diameter oaks and conifers (through burning operations) should result in overall improved health and vigor of remaining oaks and increase their mast production, improving forage opportunities for deer. In addition, opening up the stands would allow for more black oak regeneration. Implementing the project will probably reduce the potential for large stand-replacing fires within the Project Area. A patchy, low to moderate burn operation, as proposed, would likely improve deer habitat, especially in areas near water and away from human influences. It could improve the quality of mule deer habitat within the units by creating more openings for forbs and rejuvenating old shrubs, which will provide increased amounts of deer forage. However, the area may not have enough moisture to stimulate much forage improvement. An improvement in forage opportunities for mule deer may rely heavily on the amount of precipitation in the years following treatment. Under the proposed project, thermal cover (including the amount of shade and snow hitting the ground) would be temporarily reduced as a result of fuel reduction activities. A reduction in cover, though slight, may increase understory growth and thus provide for new deer forage sources. The short term (and re-occurring during maintenance activities), indirect effects of the Proposed Action would likely improve the quality of mule deer habitat within the units by creating more openings for forbs and rejuvenating old shrubs, which will provide increased amounts of deer forage. Oak species, which provide a valuable food source for deer, are not expected to be negatively affected by this project.

V-3.1.4 Cumulative Effects for Mule Deer See Parts II-3.1.3.2 and II-3.1.3.3 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. The biggest ongoing impact to deer in this area is likely the human development and disturbance by roads and people. Several other non-habitat factors, such as hunting, poaching, dogs, traffic, and disease, affect mule deer population numbers. Fuels treatment and other hazardous tree reduction projects within the D-14 zone have likely had similar types of impacts on deer populations. Because of the way these treatments have been and will be spread spatially across the landscape, the impacts of the projects cumulatively are not likely to result in long-term negative impacts to the D-

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14 deer population. By changing the vegetation to earlier successional stages in some of the Project Areas and creating openings, it is likely that there have been some short- term improvements in browse habitat. This project is likely too small relative to the landscape and too close to human habitation to make a noticeable change to deer population size. Past fires and fuelbreak maintenance around the communities has provided openings historically within and adjacent to the Project Areas. Riparian and meadow habitat within the San Bernardino National Forest boundary on federal and non-federal lands has been affected by development and water diversions and extractions over the years, reducing the amount and quality of this habitat type. As such, impacts to mule deer populations likely have occurred due to reduction in habitat quality and quantity for fawning, water sources, and movement corridors. Demands on water, and thus riparian/meadow habitat, will likely continue to increase with increasing human populations. In southern California, the human population is ever-increasing, and thus so are the recreational uses on the San Bernardino National Forest. In general, hunting and poaching pressures in the area may also increase as human populations adjacent to the Project Area increase with development. Because the potential impacts to mule deer from the Proposed Action are considered low, this project is not expected to add to the reasonably foreseeable impacts to this species in the San Bernardino Mountains.

V-3.1.5 Summary – Mule Deer Mule deer is an MIS for healthy diverse habitat conditions on the SBNF. The proposed project is not expected to negatively affect healthy and diverse habitats for which mule deer are the indicator species. In some portions of the Project Area the habitat may move toward the desired conditions for this species by improving browse opportunities. This project is close to human habitation, short-term and small-scale relative to the landscape. It will not fragment the habitat or create any barriers to movement. This project would be neutral or positive relative to the desired condition for healthy diverse habitats on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-3.2 Mountain Lion The mountain lion was selected as an MIS to detect the effects of National Forest activities and uses on landscape-level habitat fragmentation and habitat linkages. The desired condition for mountain lion is that habitat function conditions sustain healthy lion populations and that wildlife habitat functions are maintained or improved, including primary feeding areas, winter ranges, breeding areas, birthing areas, rearing areas, migration corridors, and landscape linkages (LMP, Part 1, p. 45). The objectives for mountain lion are that there are functional landscape linkages and that the species is well-distributed. The greatest concern for the long-term health of mountain lion populations on the National Forests of southern California is loss of landscape connectivity between mountain ranges and large blocks of open space on private land. Trends in distribution, movement, and/or habitat conditions are to be used

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as measurements for evaluation. The monitoring method is studies in cooperation with CDFG, USGS and other agencies (LMP FEIS, Vol. 1. p. 177, table 433). Fire and fuel management are the main tools intended to implement the objective for providing prey availability. Factors that adversely affect mule deer (see above Part V-4.3) also adversely affect mountain lions. Mountain lions prefer areas with solitude, so disturbances in riparian areas and key deer summer and winter ranges also affect mountain lions. Extensive vehicle access increases the potential for disturbance, poaching, and animal mortality from vehicles. Another threat to the species is the widening of the existing highway system and new highways, both within and outside the national forests, which can create barriers to movement. The LMP desired condition to maintain or improve habitat conditions to sustain healthy lion populations can be supported by activities that support healthy deer populations and provide travel routes for lions to disperse to other suitable habitats. See the MIS species account for this species (LMP Part 3 Appendix D) for more detailed information regarding life history, habitat conditions, and population trends on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-3.2.1 Environmental Baseline for Mountain Lion The mountain lion is the largest carnivore in southern California and requires large core habitat areas, abundant prey, and habitat connectivity between sub-populations. Recent state population estimates range from 2,500 to 6,000 individuals, with an increasing population trend. Mountain lions inhabit forest and shrubland habitats throughout California where deer, their primary prey, are found (CDFG 2005). Mountain lion population counts are very difficult and expensive, and do not exist in the Project Area or the SBNF. The CDFG estimates the mountain lion population statewide to be about 6,000 conservatively. They estimated the population to be 5,100 adults during the 1970s and 1980s (LMP 2005). Based on records of depredation, attacks on people, and predation on prey populations, it is suspected that the population peaked in 1996, and has been somewhat stable for the past several years (www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion/lion_faq.html). Between 2000 and 2008, there were only 11 depredation permits issued for mountain lions within San Bernardino County; of those, only one mountain lion was taken (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion/liondeps.htm). No permits were issued or lions taken during the period between 1990 and 1999. Human encounters with mountain lions have increased, leading to the belief that mountain lion populations have increased in the past several decades (Torres et al. 1996). Currently, long-term viability for mountain lions across southern California is at risk due to habitat fragmentation. However, there is no information that would lead to a cause for concern for mountain lion populations within the San Bernardino National Forest. It is unknown how the above numbers relate to mountain lion numbers and trends on SBNF. In general, where mule deer populations are healthy, so are mountain lion

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populations. The SBNF has some large areas of unfragmented habitat ideal for supporting mountain lion populations. The Project Area experiences high levels of human disturbance, as stated before. But the Project Area is very close to the San Gorgonio Wilderness, which receives relatively low levels of disturbance and development. It is likely that the Project Area and its surrounding areas support a healthy mountain lion population. An area of concern has been the continued decline in permeability of the critical landscape linkages from the San Bernardino Mountains to the other adjacent mountain ranges that support mountain lions. The San Bernardino-San Gabriel Connection (http://www.scwildlands.org/reports.htm) has been severely impacted by Interstate 15, State Highway 138, and three railroad tracks. Traffic on all of these continues to increase, and improvements such as road widening and adding additional tracks are being planned. Through the Missing Linkage Project and interagency cooperation, studies and mitigation plans are being developed for all of these projects. The San Bernardino National Forest is working with Caltrans on bridges and underpasses as improvements are made to the highways. The Forest is working with BNSF Railroad to improve underpasses and acquire land critical to lion and other large mammal movement as a fourth railroad track is constructed. Recent cooperative CDFG and Forest Service studies on San Gabriel bighorn sheep and mountain lions have documented movement of a collared mountain lion across Cajon Pass. This indicates that the landscape linkage is still at least functioning minimally for lions at this time. All of the agencies involved with the Pass are cooperating to ensure that this will continue. The San Bernardino-San Jacinto Connection in San Gorgonio Pass has had less cooperative emphasis from the involved agencies (Forest Service, Caltrans, Union Pacific Railroad, the Morongo Indian Tribe, City of Banning, and Riverside County). The freeway and railroad are some distance from the Forest boundary. The Forest has met with the Morongo Tribe to discuss the importance of the Pass for wildlife movement as well as feral cattle problems in some riparian areas. The Forest worked with Riverside County in the preparation of the County Multi-species Habitat Conservation Plans for Western Riverside County and Coachella Valley. Both of these plans recognized the importance of the Pass as a critical wildlife linkage. The other landscape linkage of importance to the mountain lion in the San Bernardino Mountains is the San Bernardino-Little San Bernardino Connection. This connection is quite some distance to the east of the National Forest and primarily involves Caltrans, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Joshua Tree National Park. The Forest participates when workshops on this connection take place and is providing input into the Connection Report.

V-3.2.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – Mountain Lion There would be no disturbance or increase in human activities under the No Action Alternative. The discussions in Part II-3.5 and that provided in Part V-4.2 for the lion’s prey (mule deer) are applicable to mountain lions.

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V-3.2.3 Potential Impacts of Proposed Action – Mountain Lion No mortality to mountain lion is expected as a result of this project because these cats are a highly mobile species capable of fleeing from low intensity fire as prescribed in the project design. Brush cutting may produce visual activity and noise above 65 decibels (normal human voice is rated at 65 decibels), which could displace animals to adjacent areas outside the project treatment boundaries. Due to the large amount of suitable habitat outside the treatment areas, it is expected that mountain lions will shift to areas without ongoing fuel activities with limited adverse effect. Human disturbance has greater potential for adverse effects on mountain lions. As was discussed previously in this document, the Project Area receives a very high level of disturbance impacts including hikers, picnickers, and residents in the area. The project would result in an opening up of habitat, making it more accessible and increasing the use of the area by people (e.g., hikers, mountain biking, dogs, equestrians, etc.) and unauthorized motorized vehicles. Thus, an increase in disturbance to lions would be expected in the areas near the private land boundaries and along roads. Regardless, there is ample suitable habitat nearby the project for displacement. The greatest concern for the long-term health of mountain lion populations on the National Forests of southern California is loss of landscape connectivity between mountain ranges and large blocks of open space on private land (Dickson et al. 2005). This project would have no effect on landscape connectivity between mountain ranges. The proposed treatments also would not result in habitat fragmentation because treated stands would still retain mature overstory and would continue to be forested stands. All temporary roads and existing, closed roads would be rehabilitated after use. Studies of mountain lion movements in the Santa Ana Mountains found that riparian vegetation and other vegetation types that provide horizontal cover are important features in movement corridors. In addition, dirt roads did not impede use of these corridors. Design Criteria and RCAs would help limit changes in riparian corridors. The indirect effects of the Proposed Action would be expected to slightly improve the quality of mule deer habitat (see mule deer analysis above), and thus very slightly improve the prey base for mountain lions.

V-3.2.4 Cumulative Effects - Mountain Lion See Parts II-3.1.3.2 and II-3.1.3.3 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. All of the fuels reduction projects on the Front Country District that are currently being implemented and all of the SBNF fuels reduction projects in the planning phase support mountain lion habitat. Those projects contain the same riparian and meadow protection Design Criteria as this project that would help protect riparian movement corridors and habitats important for prey such as mule deer. Because of the way these treatments have been and will be spread spatially across the landscape, the impacts of the projects cumulatively are not likely to result in long-term negative impacts to the San Bernardino Mountains mountain lion population.

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There are several non-Forest Service projects that have the potential to affect mountain lion populations in the San Bernardino Mountains. The widening of Interstate 15 near the 215 interchange and also Highway 138 both east and west of I-15 will reduce the ability of mountain lions to move freely between the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountain rangers. There is potential for a high-speed train project through the pass as well as additional widening of I-15 also in the Cajon Pass. There is a planned detention center that has the potential to affect the Stubbe Canyon linkage under the I-10 that may limit wildlife movement between the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountain ranges. Even though the SBNF is working with the involved agencies to maintain corridors and linkages and valuable underpasses through the pass, the cumulative effect is a reduction in permeability for wildlife. Planned housing developments in the San Bernardino Mountains will result in increased recreational uses in the Project Area, particularly in some of the more accessible riparian zones that are likely used as movement corridors by mountain lions. Hunting and poaching pressures in the area may also increase as human populations adjacent to the Project Area increase with development, affecting both deer and mountain lion populations. An increase in human-lion interactions will probably lead to an increase in issuance of depredation permits also. Additionally, associated increases in vehicle traffic will result in more injuries and deaths of deer and mountain lions and reduce the quality of movement corridors that are bisected by busier roadways. This project, as well as the other vegetation management projects in or adjacent to the Project Area, is not expected to increase fragmentation. These projects will result in opening of stands, but will maintain the area as a forested stand. They will not create large openings resulting in fragmentation. Because the potential impacts to mountain lions from the proposed project are considered low, this project is not expected to add to the reasonably foreseeable impacts to this species in the San Bernardino Mountains. None of the recently implemented projects or currently planned vegetation treatment projects is expected to affect mountain lion corridors.

V-3.2.5 Summary - Mountain Lion The mountain lion is an MIS for fragmentation of habitat on the SBNF. The proposed project is expected to improve the habitat in the Project Area for mountain lions by slightly improving habitat conditions for the primary prey species, mule deer. The proposed project is not expected to further fragment mountain lion populations through corridor alteration. This project would be neutral relative to the desired condition for fragmentation on the SBNF and in the other National Forests in southern California.

V-3.3 Song Sparrow The song sparrow was selected as an MIS for riparian areas because its abundance is expected to be responsive to management actions and to indicate trends in the status of the riparian biological community, particularly birds. The desired condition for song sparrows is that wildlife habitat conditions sustain healthy populations of native and desired non-native fish and game species, and that wildlife habitat functions are maintained or improved, including primary feeding areas, winter ranges, breeding areas,

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birthing areas, rearing areas, migration corridors, and landscape linkages (LMP, Part 1, p.45). The desired condition is that flow regimes in streams that provide habitat for threatened, endangered, proposed, Candidate, and/or Sensitive aquatic and riparian-dependent species are sufficient to allow the species to persist and complete all phases of their life cycles (LMP, Part 1, p. 45). The desired condition for riparian condition is that watercourses are functioning properly and support healthy populations of native and desired non-native riparian-dependent species (LMP, Part 1, p. 41). The objectives for song sparrow are that there are stable or increasing populations and healthy riparian habitat. Trends in abundance and/or habitat conditions are to be used as measurements for evaluation. The monitoring method is to be riparian bird counts and/or habitat conditions (LMP FEIS, Vol. 1. p. 177, table 433). Song sparrow abundance is positively correlated with the abundance of riparian herbaceous vegetation and negatively correlated with the use of riparian understories for grazing and recreation (Ballard and Geupel 1998). This species was well- represented in riparian bird count surveys on the four southern Forests from 1988 to 1996. Negative trends were determined for the song sparrow during this monitoring. See the MIS species account for this species or more detailed information regarding life history, habitat conditions, and population trends on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-3.3.1 Environmental Baseline for Song Sparrow Song sparrows are at risk due to changes in or loss of riparian habitat due to development, water extraction or other activities, brood-parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, and predation by native wildlife as well as introduced cats, dogs, and rodents. The amount of riparian habitat in California has been greatly reduced by development. Flood control channels, dams, and agricultural and residential development have destroyed thousands of acres of habitat. For the portion of California west of the Sierra Nevada, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges, approximately 89% of riparian habitat has been lost (Noss and Peters 1989). As the human population continues to grow and the demand for water and recreation opportunities increases, the pressures on riparian habitat will continue to increase. There are concerns with very low productivity in some regions in the state, particularly some areas in the Central Valley. Brood parasitism rates are high in some regions of the state. Habitat degradation may be responsible for all of the above, particularly the destruction of riparian understory. The species is not overly sensitive to human-induced disturbance (CalPIF website). Refer to the MIS account for further details. Specific surveys for song sparrows were not conducted in this Project Area. However, they are known from previous surveys conducted (Rotenberry and Carlson 1996, Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, San Bernardino County Museum). Since the Project Area supports riparian habitat, song sparrows would be expected there. Typically, this

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species is found nesting at lower elevations. Habitat within the Project Area that has been identified as suitable for southwestern willow flycatcher is also suitable for song sparrow (see Part IV-3.1.1).

V-3.3.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – Song Sparrow The discussions in Part II-3.5 and IV-3.1.1 are applicable for song sparrow. Under the No Action alternative, no management actions would occur in the Project Area. If the area is left untreated, song sparrows in the Project Area would experience lower levels of disturbance, both to individuals and to habitats important for foraging, movement, shelter, migration, wintering, and breeding than they would under the Proposed Action. However, project Design Criteria and RCAs would, to a great extent, protect much of the riparian habitat that potentially could be affected by project activties. If left untreated, the Project Area may be at a higher risk of wildfires with more intense fire behavior. Moderate to high-severity fires would be expected to remove much of the overstory and understory (depending on weather and wind conditions). The above scenario could likely result in increased mortality and injury to song sparrows and short term loss of habitat. The extent and degree of impacts vary within a landscape in any given fire. Generally, mosaic patterns occur with some habitat retention amid areas that burned at high severities. However, a future wildfire with higher resistance to control could result in direct wildlife mortality and increased impacts from intensive suppression efforts (e.g., dozer lines) to which rare wildlife species generally have lower resilience.

V-3.3.3 Potential Impacts of Proposed Action – Song Sparrow This species is strongly associated with perennial riparian habitats. See discussions in Part II-3.4.5 for a discussion of potential riparian habitat impacts. The discussion of habitat impacts for southwestern willow flycatcher (Part IV-3.1.1) is also applicable for song sparrow. For the sake of this analysis, we used the assumption that habitat determined to be suitable for southwestern willow flycatcher is likewise suitable for song sparrows. This assumption may underestimate potential habitat for song sparrows because they may nest outside the riparian zone (about 10 percent of the time), sometimes in soft chaparral habitat. However, since the purpose of using song sparrows as an MIS is to assess impacts to riparian health, this assumption should effectively allow assessments of impacts to riparian habitat health. Song sparrows nest on the ground or low in shrubs, so it is possible that nests in treatment areas could be impacted physically or by noise and other crew-related disturbance if implementation occurs during the breeding period. Adult sparrows would be able to fly away to other nearby suitable habitats and would not likely be directly affected. An LOP within a 500-foot buffered area around suitable willow flycatcher habitat (between May 1 and August 31) would help limit impacts to nesting song sparrows. There is potential for impacts to song sparrows nesting prior to May 1; however, these impacts are expected to be short-term.

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As identified in the effects discussion for southwestern willow flycatcher (Part IV-3.1.1) no impacts are anticipated to habitat components for willow flycatcher. However, song sparrows may occur in riparian habitat outside of areas suitable for southwestern willow flycatcher. See Part II-3.4.5 for a discussion of potential riparian impacts that would apply to song sparrow habitat.

V-3.3.4 Cumulative Effects – Song Sparrow See Parts II-3.1.3.2 and II-3.1.3.3 for a discussion of current and foreseeable future activities. All of the fuels reduction projects on the Front Country District that are currently being implemented and all of the SBNF fuels reduction projects in the planning phase support suitable song sparrow habitat. Those projects contain the same riparian and meadow protection Design Criteria as this project to help protect riparian habitats. Planned housing developments in the San Bernardino Mountains will result in increased recreational uses in the Project Area, particularly in some of the more accessible riparian zones. Similar vegetation management projects on private lands, however, do not generally carry the same levels of riparian protection as those on the SBNF and likely result in disturbance to song sparrows, in short-term and, potentially, in long-term alterations of habitat. Because the potential impacts to song sparrow from the proposed project are considered to be limited to disturbance impacts outside of the breeding season (early arrivers), this project is not expected to add to the reasonably foreseeable impacts to this species in the San Bernardino Mountains.

V-3.3.5 Summary – Song Sparrow The song sparrow was selected as an MIS for riparian habitat condition on the SBNF. This project is not expected to result in long-term changes to the existing habitat conditions for song sparrow. The project is not expected to alter population trends or influence distribution of this species over the long term. This project would be neutral relative to the desired condition for riparian habitat on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-3.4 California Spotted Owl The California spotted owl is a Forest Service Sensitive species as well as an MIS. The California spotted owl was chosen as the MIS for mature, large diameter, high canopy closure conditions of montane conifer forest. Monitoring the California spotted owl and its habitat will indicate the effectiveness of management activities in achieving maintenance and restoration of montane conifer forest habitat. The desired condition for California spotted owls is that its habitats are managed to prevent downward trends in populations or habitat capability, and to prevent federal listing (LMP, Part 1, p. 45).

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Additionally, the desired condition is that wildlife habitat conditions sustain healthy populations and that wildlife habitat functions are maintained or improved, including primary feeding areas, winter ranges, breeding areas, birthing areas, rearing areas, migration corridors, and landscape linkages (LMP, Part 1, p.45). The objective for spotted owl is to maintain/increase numbers and distribution. The number of occupied territories and/or habitat condition is to be used as measurements for evaluation. The monitoring method is to follow Forest Service Region 5, CDFG protocol (LMP FEIS, Vol. 1., p. 177, table 433). See the MIS account and the discussion in Part III-1.1.1 for more detailed information regarding life history, habitat conditions, and population trends on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-3.4.1 Environmental Baseline for California Spotted Owl See the MIS account for spotted owls for the current understanding of population status and trends throughout the national forests of southern California (Angeles, Los Padres, Cleveland, and San Bernardino National Forests). The “Risks and Management Concerns for the S. California Province” section of that document discusses in depth the past factors that have led to the existing baseline condition for this species as well as the factors that still pose a threat. See the MIS account, LMP species account, and the discussion in Part III-1.1.1 for baseline conditions in the Project Area.

V-3.4.2 Potential Impacts of No Action – California Spotted Owl The discussion in Part II-3.5 is applicable for spotted owl. Under the No Action alternative, no management actions would occur in the Project Area. If the area is left untreated, California spotted owls in the Project Area would experience lower levels of disturbance, both to individuals and to habitats important for foraging, movement, shelter, migration, wintering, and breeding than they would under the Proposed Action. If left untreated, the Project Area may be at a higher risk of larger wildfires with more intense fire behavior. Moderate to high-severity fires would be expected to remove much of the overstory and understory (depending on weather and wind conditions). Patch sizes of burned areas may be large, but would be dependent on conditions at the time of the fire. The above scenario could likely result in increased mortality/injury and substantial loss of habitat for California spotted owls. The extent and degree of impacts vary within a landscape in any given fire. Generally, mosaic patterns occur with some habitat retention amid areas that burned at high severities. However, a future wildfire with higher resistance to control could result in direct wildlife mortality and increased impacts from intensive suppression efforts (e.g., dozer lines) to which rare wildlife species generally have lower resilience.

V-3.4.3 Potential Impacts for Proposed action – California Spotted Owl Due to incorporation of project Design Criteria, this project is generally expected to be neutral relative to spotted owls in terms of habitat availability. There would be some

Part V 146 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project short-term reduction (but re-occurring due to planned maintenance) in suitable habitat and some disturbances to individuals. Breeding activities are not expected to be adversely affected by the project due to Design Criteria. Careful implementation planning and coordination and a conservative marking/layout approach in the most important owl habitat areas will help ensure that the impacts will be as low as feasible while implementing treatments. Implementation of the project will also offer some protection of spotted owl habitat from stand-replacing fires. See Part III-1.1.1 for a detailed discussion of project-related impacts to California spotted owls and its habitat.

V-3.4.4 Cumulative Effects -- California Spotted Owls See Part III-1.1.1 for a detailed discussion of cumulative impacts to California spotted owls and its habitat.

V-3.4.5 Summary for California Spotted Owls California spotted owl is an MIS for montane conifer habitat health. The project Design Criteria are critical to avoid significant impacts to California spotted owl and its habitat. The proposed project is not expected to result in long-term changes to the existing habitat conditions for California spotted owl across SBNF. Short-term habitat impacts may occur on the local level but they are not expected to influence distribution of this species over the long term. This project would be neutral to the desired condition for the montane conifer forest on the SBNF and in the other national forests in southern California.

V-4.0 SUMMARY FOR MIS

None of the data suggests that this project would, to any measurable extent, negatively affect the MIS or the habitats/conditions for which they were selected as MIS at a regional level. Some localized impacts are anticipated, however. The Design Criteria, RCAs, BMPs, and treatment prescriptions are expected to limit potential impacts to the MIS habitats present in the Project Area. The scope of this project is too small relative to the landscape to make a real loss or improvement to MIS populations across the SBNF, or even in the project vicinity. Project completion may reduce the risk of wildfire as a result of increases in human population. The potential impacts to MIS habitat associated with implementation of the project may be mitigated to some degree by increased protection from crown fires in the Project Area.

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LITERATURE CITED

Note that many of the citations used in the life history summations within this document can be found in the species accounts from which they were taken. For the sake of time, they are generally not cited again here.

Backlin, A.; Haas C.; and Fisher, R. 2002. Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests, mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) surveys, 2001 U.S. Geological Survey Annual Report. Prepared for Angeles National Forest and San Bernardino National Forest. Boss, K. Wildlife Biologist, USDA Forest Service. Personal Communication. CalPIF (California Partners in Flight). 2002. Version 2.0. The oak woodland bird conservation plan: a strategy for protecting and managing oak woodland habitats and associated birds in California (S. Zack, lead author). Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Stinson Beach, CA. http://www.prbo.org/calpif/plans.html. CalPIF (California Partners in Flight). 2004. Version 2.0. The coastal scrub and chaparral bird conservation plan: a strategy for protecting and managing coastal scrub and chaparral habitats and associated birds in California (J. Lovio, lead author). PRBO Conservation Science, Stinson Beach, CA. http://www.prbo.org/calpif/plans.html. CNNDB. 9/2/2005. The California Natural Diversity Data Base. California Department of Fish and Game, Natural Heritage Division. Compton, S.L.; Backlin, A.R.; Hitchcock, C.J.; Fisher, R.N.; and Hathaway, S.A. 2005. Data summary for the 2005 mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) surveys conducted in the San Bernardino National Forest. U.S. Geological Survey data summary prepared for the San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino, CA. 14 pp. Dyke, S.L. and C. French. 2004. Biological Assessment/Biological Evaluation and Wildlife Report for the Angelus Oaks Community Protection Project. Gallegos, E.A.; Backlin, A.R.; and Fisher, R.N. 2008. Data summary for the 2008 mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) surveys conducted in the San Bernardino National Forest. U.S. Geological Survey data summary prepared for the San Bernardino National Forest, Arcadia, CA. 9 pp. Goff, B. Hydrologist, Geomorphis. Personal Communication. FireWise2000. 2010. Final fire and fuels report, Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project. Prepared for GeomorphIS and the USDA Forest Service, Front Country Ranger District San Bernardino National Forest. January 21, 2011.

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GeomorphIS. 2011. Final soils and hydrology report, Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project. Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Front Country Ranger District San Bernardino National Forest. January 21, 2011. GeomorphIS. 2011a. Final silviculture report, Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project. Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Front Country Ranger District San Bernardino National Forest. January 21, 2011. LaHaye, W. S., R. J. Gutiérrez, and H. R. Akçakaya. 1994. Spotted Owl metapopulation dynamics in southern California. Journal of Animal Ecology 63:775-785.

LaHaye, W. S. 2003. Results of Spotted Owl Surveys in the San Bernardino National Forest During the Spring and Summer 2003. Unpublished Report.

LaHaye, W. S. 2004. Results of Spotted Owl Surveys in the San Bernardino National Forest During the Spring and Summer 2004. Unpublished Report.

Lincer, J. L. 1975. DDE-induced eggshell-thinning in the American kestrel: a comparison of the field situation and laboratory results. Journal of Applied Ecology. 12(3): 781–793. Meyer, K. P. Front Country Ranger District Wildlife Biologist, USDA Forest Service. Personal Communication. Noon, B. R. and K. McKelvey. 1992. Stability properties of the Spotted Owl metapopulation in southern California, p. 187-206. In J. Verner, K. McKelvey, B. R. Noon, R. J. Gutiérrez, G. I. Gould Jr., and T. W. Beck [Eds.], The California Spotted Owl: a technical assessment of its current status. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-GTR-133. Rich, T. D.; Beardmore, C.J.; Berlanga, H.; Blancher, P.J.; Bradstreet, M.S.W.; Butcher, G.S.; Demarest, D.W.; Dunn, E.H.; Hunter, W.C.; Iñigo-Elias, E.E.; Kennedy, J.A.; Martell, A.M.; Panjabi, A.O.; Pashley, D. N.; Rosenberg, K.V.; Rustay, C.M.; Wendt, J.S.; Will, T.C. 2004. Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Ithaca, NY. Schuster, S.L.; Backlin, A.R.; and Fisher, R.N. 2007. Data summary for the 2007 mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) surveys conducted in the San Bernardino National Forest. U.S. Geological Survey/Western Ecological Research Center data summary prepared for the San Bernardino National Forest and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sullivan, Janet. 1994. Accipiter striatus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. Tanner, R. G. and C. G. Thelander. 2005. Results of the California spotted owl surveying and monitoring project in the San Bernardino National Forest during spring and summer 2005. Unpublished Report.

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Tanner, R. G. and C. G. Thelander. 2006. Results of the California spotted owl surveying and monitoring project in the San Bernardino National Forest during spring and summer 2006. Unpublished Report.

Tanner Environmental Services (TES). 2007. Results of the California spotted owl surveying and monitoring project in the San Bernardino National Forest during spring and summer 2007. Unpublished Report.

Tanner Environmental Services (TES). 2008. Results of the California spotted owl surveying and monitoring project in the San Bernardino National Forest during spring and summer 2008. Unpublished Report.

Tanner Environmental Services (TES). 2009. Results of the California spotted owl surveying and monitoring project in the San Bernardino National Forest during spring and summer 2009. Unpublished Report.

Tanner Environmental Services (TES). 2010. Results of the California spotted owl surveying and monitoring project in the San Bernardino National Forest during spring and summer 2010. Unpublished Report.

USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/index.html (accessed 12 October 2010). USDA Forest Service. 1993. Protocol for surveying for spotted owls in proposed management activity areas and habitat conservation areas (March 12, 1991; revised February 1993). Unpublished document on file. Vallejo, CA: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region.

USDA Forest Service. 1999. Biological Assessment for riparian obligate species. San Bernardino National Forest. USDA Forest Service. 2000. Landbird Strategic Plan, FS-648. Washington, D.C. USDA Forest Service. 2000. Southern California conservation strategy province consultation package. Programmatic consultation for the existing forest plans for the four southern California forests. USDA Forest Service. 2003. Glyphosate: Human health and ecological risk assessment final report. Prepared by Syracuse Environmental Research Associates. Posted at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/invasiveplant-eis/Risk-Assessments/04a03_glyphosate- final.pdf . Accessed 1/4/10. USDA Forest Service. 2004. Conservation strategy for the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) on the National Forests of southern California. June 30, 2004. 34 pp. USDA Forest Service. 2005a. San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan. R5-MB-084. September 2005.

Literature Cited 150 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

USDA Forest Service. 2005b. Regional Invasive Plant Environmental Impact Statement. Available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/invasiveplant-eis/FEIS.htm. Accessed 1/4/10. USDA Forest Service. 2006a. Regional Invasive Plant Environmental Impact Statement, Appendix X: Effects of Herbicides on Wildlife Species. 42 pp. Available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/invasiveplant-eis/site-specific/MTH/FEIS-08/FEIS- APP/App-X-Wildlife.pdf . Accessed 1/4/10. USDA Forest Service. 2006b. Species accounts of animals on Southern California national forests. 1439 p. Available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/docs/species-animals.pdf USDA Forest Service, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service. 2008. Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to promote the conservation of migratory birds. FS Agreement #08-MU-1113-2400-264. Washington, D.C. USDA Forest Service. 2010a. Fire effects information system (FEIS) [online]. Available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ (accessed 15 October 2010). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. Draft biological opinion on the effects of ongoing forest activities that may affect listed riparian species. 9/7/99. 96 pp. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2001b. Biological and conference opinions on the continued implementation of Land and Resource Management Plans for four southern California National Forests, as modified by new interim management direction and conservation measures. 2/27/01. 366 pp. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Birds of conservation concern 2002. Division of Migratory Bird Management, Arlington, Virginia. 99 pp. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Biological and conference opinions on the Revised Land and Resource Management Plans for the Four southern California National Forests, California (I-6-05-F-773.9)

.

Literature Cited 151 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

APPENDIX A: MANAGEMENT DIRECTION AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

A-1.0 JURISDICTIONS Other federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) may regulate impacts to certain habitats and species associated with the Project Area.

A-1.1 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, ACOE regulates the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into waters of the United States. The term “waters of the United States” is defined at 33 CFR Part 328 and includes (1) all navigable waters (including all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide), (2) all interstate waters and wetlands, (3) all impoundments of waters mentioned above, (4) all tributaries to waters mentioned above, (5) the territorial seas, and (6) all wetlands adjacent to waters mentioned above. Wetlands are defined at 33 CFR 328.3(b) as “those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support...a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.” A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (SWANCC 2001) has determined that ACOE jurisdiction may not necessarily extend to intrastate waters and wetlands where the only federal nexus is potential use by migratory birds. The Project Area includes Mill Creek (a tributary to the Santa Ana River). The Santa Ana River is intrastate waterway tributary to the Pacific Ocean, and thus is navigable water subject to ACOE jurisdiction because of the existing connection to interstate commerce. Issuance of a Section 404 Permit to discharge dredged or fill material into jurisdictional waters is considered a federal action and cannot be undertaken by the Corps if the permitted actions could adversely affect federally listed (or proposed) endangered or threatened species, unless ACOE consults with USFWS.

A-1.2 California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) Pursuant to Section 1600 et seq. of the Fish and Game Code, the CDFG may require a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement prior to any activity that will substantially divert or obstruct the natural flow or substantially change the bed, channel, or bank of a river, stream or lake, or use material from a streambed. CDFG defines a “stream” (including creeks and rivers) as “a body of water that flows at least periodically or intermittently through a bed or channel having banks and supports fish or other aquatic life. This includes watercourses having surface or subsurface flow that supports or has supported riparian vegetation.” CDFG's definition of “lake” includes “natural lakes or man-made reservoirs.” In addition to the bed and banks of a stream, CDFG jurisdiction includes riparian or wetland vegetation associated with a stream. CDFG’s issuance of a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement for a project that is subject to CEQA will require California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance actions by CDFG as a responsible

Appendix A A-1 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project agency. CDFG as a responsible agency under CEQA may consider the lead agency’s Negative Declaration or Environmental Impact Report for the project. Federal projects on federal land do not require the Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement. However, a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement may be required of a non-federal participant for projects on federal land carried out or funded by the non-federal participant. Pursuant to Section 2080 et seq. of the Fish and Game Code, a California Endangered Species Act (CESA) permit must be obtained to authorize incidental “take” of plants or animals listed under CESA. Revisions to the Fish and Game Code, effective January 1998, may require that the Department issue a separate CEQA document for the issuance of a 2081 permit unless the project CEQA document addresses all project impacts to listed species and specifies a mitigation monitoring and reporting program that will meet the requirements of a 2081 permit. Please note that federal projects on federal land (such as a Forest Service Project on Forest Service land) do not require the 2081 incidental take permit. However, an incidental take permit may be required of a non-federal participant for projects on federal land carried out or funded by the non- federal participant. Sections 3503, 3503.5, and 3513 of the California Fish and Game Code prohibit take of all birds and their active nests including raptors and other migratory non-game birds [as listed under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)].

A-2.0 FEDERAL LAWS

A-2.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pursuant to Section 7 of the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), any federal agency undertaking a federal action that may affect a species listed or proposed as threatened or endangered under the ESA must consult with USFWS. In addition, any federal agency undertaking a federal action that may result in adverse modification of critical habitat for a federally listed species must consult with USFWS. All migratory non-game native bird species are protected by international treaty under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918 (50 CFR Section 10.13). Pursuant to the MBTA, it is unlawful to “take” (i.e., capture, kill, pursue, or possess) migratory birds or their nests. The MBTA covers virtually all native bird species.

A-2.2 Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act contains protection for all species federally listed as endangered or threatened as follows: • Federal agencies shall seek to conserve endangered species and threatened species and shall, in consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, utilize their authorities in furthering the purposes of the Endangered Species Act by carrying out programs for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. • Regulations for species that are proposed for listing as endangered or threatened are included in the Endangered Species Act: Federal agencies shall confer with

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on any agency action that is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any species proposed to be listed.

A-2.3 Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Acts In late 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding between the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Promote the Conservation of Migratory Birds (MOU) was signed. The intent of the MOU is to strengthen migratory bird conservation through enhanced collaboration and cooperation between the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service as well as other federal, state, tribal and local governments. Within the National Forests, conservation of migratory birds focuses on providing a diversity of habitat conditions at multiple spatial scales and ensuring that bird conservation is addressed when planning for land management activities. The MOU covers implementation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918 (50 CFR Section 10.13) and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 (16 USC 668-668d). Under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), the Forest Service is directed to “provide for diversity of plant and animal communities based on the suitability and capability of the specific land area in order to meet overall multiple-use objectives.” [P.L. 94-588, Sec 6 (g) (3) (B)]. The January 2000 USDA Forest Service Landbird Conservation Strategic Plan, followed by Executive Order 13186 in 2001, in addition to the Partners in Flight (PIF) specific habitat Conservation Plans for birds and the January 2004 PIF North American Landbird Conservation Plan, all reference goals and objectives for integrating bird conservation into forest management and planning. The Migratory Bird Executive Order (January 11, 2001) and the 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the Forest Service and USFWS provide further direction, as follows: Within the NEPA process, the Forest Service will evaluate the effects of agency actions on migratory birds, focusing first on species management concerns along with their priority habitats and key risk factors. To the extent practicable: a) Evaluate and balance long-term benefits of projects against any short- or long- term adverse effects when analyzing, disclosing, and mitigating the effects of actions. b) Pursue opportunities to restore or enhance the composition, structure, and juxtaposition of migratory bird habitats in the Project Area. c) Consider approaches, to the extent practicable, for identifying and minimizing take that is incidental to otherwise lawful activities, including such approaches as: • Altering the season of activities to minimize disturbances during the breeding season; • Retaining snags for nesting structures where snags are under- represented;

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• Retaining the integrity of breeding sites, especially those with long histories of use; and, • Giving due consideration to key wintering areas, migration routes, and stop-overs. The Riparian Bird Conservation Plans (BCP) (CalPIF 2004) includes conservation recommendations to 1) protect and restore riparian areas with intact adjacent uplands; ensure patch size, configuration and connectivity of riparian habitats; and restore and manage riparian forests to promote structural diversity and volume of the understory. The Proposed Action includes the use of riparian stream management zones, no-treat buffers and BMPs to ensure the continued health of the riparian habitat. Over the long term, treatments in the uplands should reduce the risk of stand-replacing fire and loss of riparian vegetation. The Coniferous Forest BCP (CalPIF 2002) identifies problems as 1) loss of old-growth forests, 2) fire suppression, 3) fragmentation, and 4) elimination of snags. Fire suppression has resulted in decreased structural diversity, often producing a dense homogeneous forest with closed canopy and little shrub cover. Birds that use open forests and shrub understories are declining. The Proposed Action will open up stands and result in increased shrub understory.

A-2.4 Clean Water Act Pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) regulates the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into waters of the United States. The term “waters of the United States” is defined at 33 CFR Part 328 and includes (1) all navigable waters (including all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide), (2) all interstate waters and wetlands, (3) all impoundments of waters mentioned above, (4) all tributaries to waters mentioned above, (5) the territorial seas, and (6) all wetlands adjacent to waters mentioned above. Wetlands are defined at 33 CFR 328.3(b) as “those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support...a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.” A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (SWANCC 2001) has determined that Corps jurisdiction may not necessarily extend to intrastate waters and wetlands where the only federal nexus is potential use by migratory birds. The Project Area is located within the Santa Ana River basin, an intrastate waterway tributary to the Pacific Ocean, which is navigable water subject to Corps jurisdiction. Issuance of a Section 404 Permit to discharge dredged or fill material into jurisdictional waters is considered a federal action and cannot be undertaken by the Corps if the permitted actions could adversely affect federally listed (or proposed) endangered or threatened species.

A-2.5 National Forest Management Act The National Forest Management Act of 1976 and its implementing regulations (CFR 219) state that “fish and wildlife habitat shall be managed to maintain viable populations of existing native and desired non-native vertebrate species in the planning area

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(Section 219.19).” Section 219.19 also calls for the use of management indicator species to indicate the effects of management activities. In addition, the Secretary of Agriculture's policy on fish and wildlife (Department Regulation 9500-4) directs the Forest Service to avoid actions “which may cause a species to become threatened or endangered.”

A-3.0 AGENCY DIRECTION

A-3.1 Forest Service Manual Forest Service Manual direction for rare species is contained in FSM 2670. The policy directs the Forest Service: • To avoid or minimize impacts to species whose viability has been identified as a concern. • That if impacts cannot be avoided, analyze the significance of potential adverse effects... line officer can allow or disallow the impact but the decision must not result in loss of species viability or create a significant trend towards federal listing. • To develop/implement management practices to ensure that species do not become threatened or endangered because of Forest Service actions.

A-4.0 SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST POLICY, DIRECTION, LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

A-4.1 San Bernardino National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan The revised San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan (Forest Plan) (Forest Service 2005) contains direction on management of issues and resources within the Forest boundaries. The Forest Plan direction that applies to wildlife, plant, and restoration management is included in both Part 2 and Part 3 of the Forest Plan. This applicable direction is included below. Fish and Wildlife Standards When Implementing All Activities: S11: When occupied or suitable habitat for a threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate or sensitive (TEPCS) species is present on an ongoing or proposed project site, consider species guidance documents (see LMP Part 3 Appendix H) to develop project-specific or activity-specific design criteria. This guidance is intended to provide a range of possible conservation measures that may be selectively applied during site-specific planning to avoid, minimize or mitigate negative long-term effects on threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate or sensitive species and habitat. Involve appropriate resource specialists in the identification of relevant design criteria. Include review of species guidance

Appendix A A-5 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

documents in fire suppression or other emergency actions when and to the extent practicable. S12: When implementing new projects in areas that provide for threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species, use design criteria and conservation practices (see LMP Part 3 Appendix H) so that discretionary uses and facilities promote the conservation and recovery of these species and their habitats. Accept short-term impacts where long-term effects would provide a net benefit for the species and its habitat where needed to achieve multiple-use objectives. S18: Protect known active and inactive raptor nest areas. Extent of protection will be based on proposed management activities, human activities existing at the onset of nesting initiation, species, topography, vegetative cover, and other factors. When appropriate, a no-disturbance buffer around active nest sites will be required from nest-site selection to fledging. S19: Protect all spotted owl territories identified in the Statewide California Department of Fish and Game database (numbered owl sites) and new sites that meet the state criteria by maintaining or enhancing habitat conditions over the long-term to the greatest extent practicable while protecting life and property. Use management guidelines in the species conservation strategy (or subsequent species guidance document; see LMP Part 3 Appendix H) to further evaluate protection needs for projects, uses and activities. S24: Mitigate impacts of ongoing uses and management activities on threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species. S31: Design new facilities or expansion of existing facilities to direct public use away from occupied habitat for threatened, endangered, proposed and candidate species. When Implementing Recreation Activities: S34: Where a threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate, or sensitive species occurs in a recreation site or area, take steps to avoid or minimize negative impacts to the threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate or sensitive species and its habitat. Use the least restrictive action that will effectively mitigate adverse impacts to the species and habitat (refer to LMP Part 3 Appendix D) When Implementing Lands and Special Uses Activities: S41: When a recreation residence is destroyed, substantially damaged or becomes property of the United States, the lot must comply with, and not limited to, the following criteria to be safely occupied in the future, and be available for rebuilding. When a proposal is received for a recreation residence in-lieu lot, the lot must comply with criteria that include but are not limited to the following list in order to be safely occupied in the future and be available for building consideration:

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• Outside of the 100 year floodplain • Outside of the area of geologic hazards such as landslides and falling rock • Safely accessible by emergency, passenger, and official vehicles SOIL, WATER, RIPARIAN AND HERITAGE STANDARDS Applicable Within Riparian Conservation Areas: S47: When designing new projects in riparian areas, apply the Five-Step Project Screening Process for Riparian Conservation Areas as described in LMP Part 3 Appendix E - Five-Step Project Screening Process for Riparian Conservation Areas. When Implementing Recreation Activities: S50: Mitigate negative long-term impacts from recreation use to soil, watershed, riparian or heritage resources (refer to LMP Part 3 Appendix D - Adaptive Mitigation for Recreation Uses). When Implementing Minerals and Energy Activities: S58: Evaluate geologic hazards and develop mitigations where risks to life, property or resources are identified when planning and implementing management activities.

Appendix A A-7 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

FOREST-SPECIFIC DESIGN CRITERIA FOR THE SBNF (PART 2 OF PLAN) Place Specific Standards: SBNF S4 - Where available, in suitable southern rubber boa habitat retain a minimum of nine down logs per acre (minimum 12 inches diameter and 180 total linear feet) except in Wildland/Urban Interface Defense Zones and fuelbreaks. Give preference to large diameter logs (Arrowhead, Big Bear, Big Bear Back Country, Front Country, Garner Valley, Idyllwild, Silverwood, San Gorgonio, and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument Places). SBNF S5 - Evaluate potential long-term impacts of new projects and activities on important landscape level habitats that are identified in the places. These include landscape linkages, wildlife movement corridors, key deer and bighorn sheep fawning and lambing areas, and winter ranges, and raptor nesting sites. Minimize or mitigate impacts to maintain their functionality over the long-term (all Places). SBNF S6 - Provide compatible management on those portions of National Forest System land designated as being part of Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plans (MSHCP) under the National Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Coachella Valley Plan: San Bernardino Front Country, San Gorgonio, and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Places; Mojave Plan: Big Bear, Cajon, Desert Rim, Mojave Front Country, and Silverwood Places; and Western Riverside County Plan: Anza, Idyllwild, and San Bernardino Front Country Places). SBNF S7- Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail - Protect scenic values in accordance with adopted scenic integrity objectives. Protect foreground views from the footpath, as well as designated viewpoints. Where practicable avoid establishing unconforming land uses within the viewshed of the trail (Arrowhead, Big Bear, Big Bear Back Country, Cajon, Garner Valley, Idyllwild, Lytle Creek, Mojave Front Country, San Gorgonio, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, and Silverwood Places). FOREST PLAN STRATEGIES The project complies with Forest Plan direction through the use of the following strategies that SBNF managers intend to emphasize in the next 3–5 years (2006–2010): WL 1 - Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, Candidate, and Sensitive Species Management • Manage habitat to move listed species toward recovery and de-listing. Prevent listing of proposed and Sensitive species. • Implement priority conservation strategies (San Bernardino NF Conservation Strategy, table 531). • Use vegetation management practices to reduce the intensity of fires to reduce habitat loss due to catastrophic fires.

Appendix A A-8 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

• Work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop recovery plans for federally listed species. Implement Forest Service actions as recommended in recovery plans for federally listed species. • Establish and maintain a working relationship with county and city governments to ensure coordination on development projects adjacent to the national forest as well as implementation of multi-species habitat conservation plans. • Coordinate with California Department of Fish and Game (CDF&G) regarding fish stocking and nonnative fisheries management to implement measures to resolve conflicts with threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate, and Sensitive species and habitats. • Restore degraded habitats with cooperators. • Recommend mineral withdrawal when needed to provide species protection over the long-term. • Emphasize the following practices within carbonate, montane meadow and pebble plain habitat:

o Develop and implement a transportation plan that results in the reduction in road density and no new roads or motorized trails within carbonate, montane meadow, and pebble plain habitat.

o Develop and implement a facilities plan for carbonate, montane meadow, and pebble plain habitat that avoids construction of new recreation and administrative facilities within these habitats.

o Amend/modify existing special-use authorizations to include provisions for minimizing impacts to carbonate, montane meadow and pebble plain habitat.

o Avoid new authorizations for special-uses in these habitats where the requested use would adversely affect habitat. In carbonate habitat, mining special-uses will be permitted consistent with the terms of the Carbonate Habitat Management Strategy.

o Implement a program of land acquisition and land exchange that will contribute to the carbonate habitat reserve as described in the Carbonate Habitat Management Strategy.

o Develop contingency plans that will minimize impacts to carbonate, montane meadow and pebble plain habitat from actions and activities that occur during emergencies.

o Develop and implement a monitoring plan that will provide early detection of downward trends in the quality of carbonate, montane meadow and pebble plain habitat.

Appendix A A-9 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

WL 2 - Management of Species of Concern • Maintain and improve habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants, including those with the following designations: game species, harvest species, management indicator species, and Watchlist species. • Manage State of California Designated Wild Trout Streams (Bear and Deep Creek) to maintain high-quality habitat for wild trout populations. • Coordinate and form partnerships with the CDF&G and other cooperators, such as Partners in Flight to maintain and improve fish, wildlife and plant habitat. • Monitor management indicator species. • Monitor habitat for ecological health indicators (e.g., tamarisk, aquatic macroinvertebrates, bullfrogs). • Develop and maintain wildlife water sources and other habitat improvement structures. • Protect habitat during fire suppression activities where feasible. • Cooperate with other agencies, partners, and other national forest programs to maintain and improve landscape level habitat conditions and ecological processes over the long-term for landscape linkages, wildlife movement corridors, key deer and bighorn sheep fawning, lambing, and winter ranges, and raptor nesting sites. PLACE BASED PROGRAM EMPHASIS There is also management direction in the Place descriptions. These are located in Part 2 of the SBNF Plan beginning on page 41. There are 15 “places” on the SBNF. The proposed project is located in the Front Country Place and a small portion of the San Gorgonio Place. The Proposed Action will move the Forest towards the desired condition by implementing vegetation treatments that provide for community protection, biological resource conservation, and scenic integrity. The Proposed Action is consistent with the program emphasis for this Place. Front Country Place: Desired Condition: San Bernardino Front Country Place is maintained as a natural appearing “first impression” landscape that functions as a scenic backdrop and forest portal with high-quality, natural-appearing landscape vistas providing managed recreation opportunities. The valued landscape attributes to be preserved over time are craggy silhouettes of the mountain peaks, the mosaic of rock outcrops, an age-class mosaic in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and riparian habitat, and the presence of conifers in the higher elevations and canyons. Chaparral and forested areas are managed to provide fire protection for adjacent urban communities, recreation areas, and wildlife habitat. Habitat conditions for threatened, endangered, and Sensitive species are improving over

Appendix A A-10 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

time. The Santa Ana River above the Seven Oaks Dam is a healthy aquatic ecosystem capable of supporting native fish and wildlife populations and a quality rainbow trout fishery. Invasive animal and plant species are reduced over time. Heritage properties and Native American gathering areas are identified and protected. Partnerships between the national forest and Native American tribes increase. Property lines are located and managed. Program Emphasis: Community protection from wildland fire is of the highest priority. It will be emphasized through public education, fire prevention, and fuels management in cooperation with city, county, and state agencies. Community protection projects identified in the San Gorgonio Wilderness may be implemented to reduce the risk of wildland fire to communities. Forest health projects will be implemented to remove dead trees, reduce stand density, and promote pre-suppression era fire return intervals. Habitat for threatened, endangered, and Sensitive species, such as the southwestern willow flycatcher, mountain yellow-legged frog, and speckled dace will be conserved. Activities on National Forest land will also be managed to maintain the regional habitat linkage to the south. Opportunities for the removal of invasive non-native species will concentrate on tamarisk, tree-of-heaven, arundo, and Spanish broom. The National Forest will work with Southern California Edison and the water agencies to restore and maintain aquatic and riparian habitat and native species above the Seven Oaks Dam. Restoration of the Santa Ana sucker and the Santa Ana River speckled dace populations as the habitat recovers will be a priority. This will include prevention of invasive non- native aquatic species from moving upstream from the Seven Oaks Dam. Through partnership agreements, Native American tribes provide assistance with identifying, protecting, and interpreting heritage resources. Management is expected to focus on active participation with local governments to plan for scenic and recreation values while protecting important natural resources from adjacent urbanization and special uses. New trail development of the Front Country Trail will be proposed and day-use recreation opportunities will be emphasized for a diverse urban population while protecting public safety and riparian habitat. National Forest staff expect recreational target shooting to be well-managed, and developed recreation facilities to be reconstructed to improve their condition. Snowplay activities in Forest Falls will be managed. Conservation education will include a bilingual emphasis. Land acquisition is expected to consolidate ownership. Accurate National Forest boundaries along the urban interface will be re-established and maintained. Impacts from the Wildland-Urban-Interface will be managed. The National Forest will continue to work closely with developers, planners, and local officials to reduce resource impacts and conflicts on National Forest land from nearby development. Law enforcement activities will be coordinated with other functional areas for the protection of National Forest resources and the safety of National Forest visitors and employees.

Appendix A A-11 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Both Mill Creek and Santa Ana River Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) projects will be maintained and monitored for effects on TES species and aquatic/riparian habitats. The Forest Service will pursue partnership opportunities with water companies, other agencies, and other private land owners for additional environmental improvements.

Appendix A A-12 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

San Gorgonio Place: Desired Condition: San Gorgonio Place is maintained as a naturally evolving and natural-appearing landscape that functions as an alpine recreation setting containing wilderness and a wilderness portal. The valued landscape attributes to be preserved over time include the craggy silhouettes of the mountain peaks, the wind-carved alpine character, montane meadows, the big-cone Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, sub-alpine forests at higher locations and associated steep slopes and drainages, well-defined age-class mosaic in chaparral, the occurrence of rock outcrops, and natural- appearing views from the scenic byway and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. A wide variety of recreation uses will be provided, where appropriate and environmentally sustainable. Chaparral and forested areas are managed to provide fire protection for adjacent urban communities, recreation areas, and wildlife habitat, and to protect from type conversion to grass. Habitat conditions for threatened, endangered and Sensitive species are improving over time. Habitat linkages are intact and functioning. Feral cattle are removed; invasive non-native plants are reduced over time. Heritage properties are identified, evaluated, and interpreted, and Native American partnerships are in place. Management of special-use recreation residences and organization camps are improved. Property lines are located and managed, and administrative rights-of-way are appropriately acquired. Program Emphasis: Community protection from wildland fire is of the highest priority. It will be emphasized through public education, fire prevention, and fuels management in cooperation with city, county, and state agencies. Community protection projects identified in the San Gorgonio Wilderness may be implemented to reduce the risk of wildland fire to communities. Opportunities for development of fire management facilities in the east end (i.e., Heart Bar to Onyx Summit) will be explored. Forest health projects will be implemented to remove dead trees, reduce stand density, and promote pre-fire suppression era fire return intervals. Reforestation projects will maintain forest diversity. Enhancement of plant and wildlife habitat and linkage corridors for threatened, endangered, and Sensitive species will be emphasized in all management activities. An active program of prescribed burning/fuelbreak maintenance is expected to result in quality Nelson's bighorn sheep habitat and deer winter/summer range. Wildlife corridors will be maintained or enhanced. Minimum in-stream flows and groundwater standards will be established for wildlife and to ensure that water use is managed at environmentally sustainable levels. Removal of feral cattle and Spanish broom will be emphasized. Identification, evaluation and interpretation of heritage properties and Native American partnerships will be emphasized.

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Management of special-use recreation residences and organization camps will be improved. Increased environmental education opportunities are expected within organization camps. Maintenance and improvement of recreation infrastructure is a priority as is development of safe snowplay areas and a dispersed camping strategy. Opportunities to acquire land for future re-routes of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail will be explored to improve recreation opportunities and to protect sensitive resources, as well as provide a contiguous land base in the wilderness. The Pacific Crest Trail remains a priority for management and maintenance. National Forest staff expect to continue to work closely with developers, planners, and local officials in order to reduce resource impacts and conflicts on national forest land. Accurate National Forest boundaries will be re-established and maintained. There will be a continued emphasis on preventing establishment of off-route vehicle travel and unauthorized off-trail use by mountain bikes. The San Gorgonio FERC project will be analyzed to address decommissioning of the hydroelectric facilities and water delivery infrastructure. It will also address aquatic/riparian habitat improvements in Banning Canyon.

A-4.2 Forest Service California Spotted Owl Management Policies Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region policy (USDA Forest Service 1984) is to protect all identified spotted owl territories (the area within a 1.5-mile radius of each nest). The current direction for managing California spotted owls on the SBNF is contained in the Conservation Strategy for California Spotted Owls (USDA Forest Service 2004), as incorporated by reference in the SBNF Forest Plan (USDA Forest Service 2005). The Conservation Strategy established guidelines for spotted owl habitat protection within territories, calling for establishment of “owl management areas” within a 1.5-mile radius of nest sites for each pair on the Forest. These areas are broken down into 300-acre “protected activity centers (PACs),” which encompass nesting/roosting habitat, and an additional 300-acre area “Home Range Core (HRC),” which primarily contains foraging habitat. The Conservation Strategy provides for avoidance of disturbance to nesting owls by using a Limited Operating Period (LOP) for management activities that would be disruptive to spotted owls within one-quarter mile of nests. The nesting season is normally from February 1 to August 15. Disruptive activities within one-quarter mile of nest trees will be avoided. When authorized, those activities will be restricted to daylight hours. The Conservation Strategy also contains specific guidelines for vegetation and fuels management efforts within Nest Stands (30–60 acres around the nest trees), PACs, and HRCs.

A-4.3 Southern California Conservation Strategy

Appendix A A-14 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

As per a lawsuit settlement agreement, the SBNF has completed several Section 7 formal consultations with the USFWS for a number of listed species and the habitats in which they occur. These consultations include one for impacts to pebble plain habitats, one for riparian-dependent species, and one for impacts to carbonate plant habitats from ongoing activities on the SBNF. The Biological Assessments (USDA Forest Service 1999a, USDA Forest Service 1999b, USDA Forest Service 1999c, USDA Forest Service 2000, USDA Forest Service 2000a, and USDA Forest Service 2000b) contain Proposed Actions including avoidance and minimization measures. The Biological Opinions (USFWS 1999, USFWS 2001, USFWS 2001a) contain conservation recommendations and other guidance. In addition, the SBNF completed Section 7 programmatic formal consultation on interim management guidelines for the San Bernardino National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (USDA Forest Service 2000a). The consultation for impacts to meadow plant species was included in the Programmatic Consultation. The Programmatic Biological Assessment (USDA Forest Service 2000a) and Biological Opinion (USFWS 2001b) for ongoing activities on the SBNF has applicable management direction that is relevant to this project: • The Forest is required to complete a habitat assessment to determine whether modeled habitat is currently suitable for or occupied by the species. Current modeled habitat is based on physiographic and vegetative features (GIS databases). • For new activities to be authorized or carried out by the Forest Service, modeled habitat will be treated as occupied habitat until surveyed for suitability (based on mutually agreed upon suitability criteria) and, if necessary, for occupancy. All applicable management direction and resource evaluation for the species and activity will be required. • Results of the modeled habitat surveys shall be documented in the Affected Environment and Effects of the Proposed Action section of the BE/BA. • Fuelwood and miscellaneous products: Forest Service will exclude areas of known pebble plain habitat from fuelwood and other miscellaneous forest product collection. Effective April 1, 1999 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2000, USDA Forest Service 1999). • Forest Products Harvesting: As of April 1999, the public fuelwood cutting and gathering policy has been revised to prohibit public fuelwood cutting and gathering in carbonate plant habitat. If salvage or forest stand treatments are needed for safety or forest health, the treatments would be designed to avoid and minimize impacts to carbonate plants and their habitat and NEPA analysis and future consultation with USFWS if Proposed Action would affect listed species (USDA Fish and Wildlife Service 2000a). • Timber Management: Any future new or modified timber sales, salvage permits, or associated activities that may affect listed species will be addressed through

Appendix A A-15 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

future individual programmatic consultation (USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service 2000a). • Timber Management: Any proposed, new, renewed or modified plantations, timber sales, or salvage harvest that may affect listed species would be subject to future consultation. (USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000). • Conservation Recommendation #2 and 3 BOs: Protect and restore all remaining pebble plain and carbonate habitat and associated physical features within San Bernardino National Forest. The restoration program on the SBNF should work with USFWS and Rancho Santa Ana botanic gardens and other experts to develop and refine methods to restore pebble plain habitat on disturbed surfaces. (USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000a). • Conservation Recommendation #3 and 4 Draft BOs: Control or remove invasive, exotic plants and animals from the SBNF to the maximum extent possible. In particular, it is strongly recommended that invasive, alien grasses be suppressed and eradicated to the maximum extent possible from areas occupied by listed plants. (USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000a). • Conservation Recommendation #4 and 5 Draft BOs: Restrict to the maximum extent possible unauthorized human and vehicular presence and activities in areas that contain pebble plain and carbonate plants via patrols or other means. (USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000a). • Conservation Recommendation Draft BOs: Notify USFWS of implementation of any conservation recommendations. (USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service 2000a). • Item #349—Design salvage or forest stand treatments to minimize long-term impacts to key and occupied TEP habitats. Consider in TEP species modeled habitats. • Item # 235—Avoid or minimize negative impacts to key and occupied TEP habitats. Use one or more of the following methods: 1) a biologist/botanist monitor on site; 2) a biologist/botanist flags for avoidance; or, 3) conduct pre- project field coordination between the biologist/botanist and project leader which includes species and habitat identification, protective measures, the necessity of adhering to the provisions of the consultation, the penalties of violating the ESA, identifying boundaries of the project, and review procedures where a TEP species is encountered during the work activity. Consider in modeled habitats for all TEP species. • Item #306—Maintenance activities for roads and trails located in TEP riparian bird key and occupied habitats will be limited to a two-hour daily period and to as few days as possible during the nesting period, unless focused surveys have determined that no nesting TEP birds are present. Consider in TEP species modeled habitats.

Appendix A A-16 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

A-5.0 CALIFORNIA STATE LAWS Pursuant to Section 1600 et seq. of the Fish and Game Code, the CDFG may require a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement prior to any activity that will substantially divert or obstruct the natural flow or substantially change the bed, channel, or bank of a river, stream or lake, or use material from a streambed. CDFG defines a “stream” (including creeks and rivers) as “a body of water that flows at least periodically or intermittently through a bed or channel having banks and supports fish or other aquatic life. This includes watercourses having surface or subsurface flow that supports or has supported riparian vegetation.” CDFG's definition of “lake” includes “natural lakes or man-made reservoirs.” In addition to the bed and banks of a stream, CDFG jurisdiction includes riparian or wetland vegetation associated with a stream. CDFG’s issuance of a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement for a project that is subject to CEQA will require California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance actions by CDFG as a responsible agency. CDFG as a responsible agency under CEQA may consider the lead agency’s Negative Declaration or Environmental Impact Report for the project. Federal projects on federal land (such as a Forest Service Project on Forest Service land) do not require the Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement. However, a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement may be required of a non-federal participant for projects on federal land carried out or funded by the non-federal participant. Pursuant to Section 2080 et seq. of the Fish and Game Code, a California Endangered Species Act (CESA) permit must be obtained to authorize incidental “take” of plants or animals listed under CESA. Revisions to the Fish and Game Code, effective January 1998, may require that the Department issue a separate CEQA document for the issuance of a 2081 permit unless the project CEQA document addresses all project impacts to listed species and specifies a mitigation monitoring and reporting program that will meet the requirements of a 2081 permit. Please note that federal projects on federal land (such as a Forest Service Project on Forest Service land) do not require the 2081 incidental take permit. However, an incidental take permit may be required of a non-federal participant for projects on federal land carried out or funded by the non- federal participant. Sections 3503, 3503.5, and 3513 of the California Fish and Game Code prohibit take of all birds and their active nests including raptors and other migratory non-game birds (as listed under the Federal MBTA).

A-6.0 BALD AND GOLDEN EAGLES There are several documents that contain guidelines and legal direction for management of bald and golden eagle populations. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act: The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 USC 668-668c), enacted in 1940 and amended several times since then, prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from “taking” bald eagles, including their parts, nests, or eggs. The Act provides criminal and civil penalties for persons who “take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter,

Appendix A A-17 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

transport, export or import, at any time or any manner, any bald eagle...[or any golden eagle], alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof.” The Act defines “take” as “pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb.” Definition of “Disturb’’: Disturb means to agitate or bother a bald or golden eagle to a degree that causes, or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, 1) injury to an eagle, 2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or 3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior. In addition to immediate impacts, this definition also covers impacts that result from human-induced alterations initiated around a previously used nest site during a time when eagles are not present, if, upon the eagles return, such alterations agitate or bother an eagle to a degree that injures an eagle or substantially interferes with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering habits and causes, or is likely to cause, a loss of productivity or nest abandonment. After the de-listing of bald eagles, USFWS finalized permit regulations to authorize limited take of bald eagles in 2009 (FR74, 175) under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines: The most recent guideline document is the National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines (USFWS 2007). The Guidelines include general recommendations for land management practices that will benefit bald eagles. The USFWS strongly encourages adherence to these guidelines to ensure that bald and golden eagle populations will continue to be sustained. Some of the applicable guidelines include (see the Guidelines document for more details): • To avoid disturbing nesting bald eagles, we recommend (1) keeping a distance between the activity and the nest (distance buffers), (2) maintaining preferably forested (or natural) areas between the activity and around nest trees (landscape buffers), and (3) avoiding certain activities during the breeding season. The buffer areas serve to minimize visual and auditory impacts associated with human activities near nest sites. Ideally, buffers would be large enough to protect existing nest trees and provide for alternative or replacement nest trees. • Avoid clear cutting or removal of overstory trees within 330 feet of the nest at any time. • Avoid timber harvesting operations, including road construction and chain saw and yarding operations, during the breeding season within 660 feet of the nest. The distance may be decreased to 330 feet around alternate nests within a particular territory, including nests that were attended during the current breeding season but not used to raise young, after eggs laid in another nest within the territory have hatched.

Appendix A A-18 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

• Selective thinning and other silviculture management practices designed to conserve or enhance habitat, including prescribed burning close to the nest tree, should be undertaken outside the breeding season. Precautions such as raking leaves and woody debris from around the nest tree should be taken to prevent crown fire or fire climbing the nest tree. If it is determined that a burn during the breeding season would be beneficial, then, to ensure that no take or disturbance will occur, these activities should be conducted only when neither adult eagles nor young are present at the nest tree (i.e., at the beginning of, or end of, the breeding season, either before the particular nest is active or after the young have fledged from that nest). Appropriate Federal and state biologists should be consulted before any prescribed burning is conducted during the breeding season. • Avoid construction of log transfer facilities and in-water log storage areas within 330 feet of the nest. • Except for authorized biologists trained in survey techniques, avoid operating aircraft within 1,000 feet of the nest during the breeding season, except where eagles have demonstrated tolerance for such activity. Proposed rules, regarding a national Eagle Conservation Plan, were recently (2/18/11) published in the Federal Register (Draft Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance, 9529-9530 [2011-3700]) http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi- bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=uBHaLt/0/2/0&WAISaction=retrieve These are under public review at this time and could be relevant to forest practices, depending on their final content.

A-7.0 COMPLIANCE WITH LMP AND OTHER DIRECTION Standards from the LMP (2005a) are displayed in the following Table A-1. Also included is a summary of how the management direction was included in the project. Table A- 1. LMP Consistency Review for Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project Plant, Fish, and Wildlife Standard LMP Consistency Review Standards When Implementing All Activities S11: When occupied or suitable habitat for a threatened, The Design Criteria include guidance endangered, proposed, candidate or Sensitive (TEPCS) species from the California spotted owl is present on an ongoing or proposed project site, consider conservation strategy. species guidance documents (see LMP Part 3 Appendix H) to develop project-specific or activity-specific Design Criteria. This guidance is intended to provide a range of possible conservation measures that may be selectively applied during site-specific planning to avoid, minimize or mitigate negative long-term effects on threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate or Sensitive species and habitat. Involve appropriate resource specialists in the identification of relevant Design Criteria. Include review of species guidance documents in fire suppression or other emergency actions when and to the extent practicable.

Appendix A A-19 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Plant, Fish, and Wildlife Standard LMP Consistency Review S12: When implementing new projects in areas that provide for The Design Criteria include threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species, use conservation measures for T/E Design Criteria and conservation practices (see LMP Part 3 species protection. Appendix H) so that discretionary uses and facilities promote the conservation and recovery of these species and their habitats. Accept short-term impacts where long-term effects would provide a net benefit for the species and its habitat where needed to achieve multiple-use objectives. S13: Manage Critical Biological land use zones so that activities Not applicable – no Critical Biological and discretionary uses are either neutral or beneficial for the Zones exist in the Project Area. species and habitats for which the area was established. Accept short-term adverse impacts to threatened, endangered, and proposed species if such impacts will be compensated by the accrual of long-term benefits to habitat for threatened, endangered, and candidate species. S14: Where available and within the capability of the site retain a This standard is incorporated into the minimum of six downed logs per acre (minimum 12 inches Design Criteria. diameter and 120 total linear feet) and 10 to 15 hard snags per five acres (minimum 16 inches diameter at breast height and 40 feet tall, or next largest available). Exception allowed in Wildland- Urban-Interface Defense Zones, fuelbreaks, and where they pose a safety hazard. S15: Within riparian conservation areas retain snags and downed This standard is incorporated into the logs unless they are identified as a threat to life, property, or Design Criteria. sustainability of the riparian conservation area. S17: In areas outside of Wildland-Urban-Interface Defense Zones This standard is incorporated into the and fuelbreaks, retain soft snags and acorn storage trees unless Design Criteria. they are a safety hazard, fire threat, or impediment operability. S18: Protect known active and inactive raptor nest areas. Extent This standard is incorporated into the of protection will be based on proposed management activities, Design Criteria. human activities existing at the onset of nesting initiation, species, topography, vegetative cover, and other factors. When appropriate, a no-disturbance buffer around active nest sites will be required from nest-site selection to fledging. S19: Protect all spotted owl territories identified in the Statewide This standard is incorporated into the California Department of Fish and Game database (numbered Design Criteria. owl sites) and new sites that meet the state criteria by maintaining or enhancing habitat conditions over the long-term to the greatest extent practicable while protecting life and property. Use management guidelines in the species conservation strategy (or subsequent species guidance document; see LMP Part 3 Appendix H) to further evaluate protection needs for projects, uses and activities. S20: Maintain a limited operating period (LOP) prohibiting This standard is incorporated into the activities within approximately 0.25 miles of a California spotted Design Criteria. owl nest site, or activity center where nest site is unknown, during the breeding season (February 1 through August 15), unless surveys confirm that the owls are not nesting. Follow the USDA Forest Service (1993, 1994, or subsequent) protocol to determine whether owls are nesting. The LOP does not apply to existing road and trail use and maintenance, use of existing developed recreation sites, or existing special uses, such as recreation residence tracts. When evaluating the need to implement a limited operating period, site- and project-specific factors need to

Appendix A A-20 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Plant, Fish, and Wildlife Standard LMP Consistency Review be considered (use species management strategy or subsequent guidance; see LMP Part 3 Appendix H). S21: California spotted owl habitat that is lost to development for Not applicable for this project. a compelling reason should be mitigated up to a two-to-one basis considering quality of habitat lost, number of territories affected, reproductive history of pair(s) displaced, location, and related factors. Development includes ski area creation or expansion, new roads or trails, special-use sites and corridors, new recreation or administrative facilities, land exchanges, etc. Mitigation land should be sought first within the mountain range where the impacts occur; if this is not possible, mitigation land should be acquired within the San Gabriel or San Bernardino Mountains. S22: Except where it may adversely affect threatened and Not applicable for this project. endangered species, linear structures such as fences, major highways, utility corridors, bridge upgrades or replacements, and canals will be designed and built to allow for fish and wildlife movement. S23: When it is necessary to close abandoned mines or buildings Not applicable for this project. for public safety or to protect the environment, do so in a manner that will maintain habitat for bat species of concern, to the extent practicable. S24: Mitigate impacts of ongoing uses and management activities The closure/restoration of on threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species. unauthorized routes after completion of the project will help mitigate for some ongoing impacts to T/E plants in the Project Area. S25: Conduct road and trail maintenance activities during the Not applicable for this project. season of year that would have the least impact on threatened, endangered, and proposed wildlife species in occupied habitats, except as provided by site-specific consultation. S26: Prohibit use by domestic sheep and goats within nine miles Not applicable for this project. of occupied bighorn sheep habitat. S27: Use seasonal closures as specified by site-specific analysis Not applicable for this project. to protect occupied bald eagle wintering, breeding, or nesting habitat. S28: Avoid or minimize disturbance to breeding and roosting Not applicable for this project. California condors by prohibiting or restricting management activities and human uses within 1.5 miles of active California condor nest sites and within 0.5 miles of active roosts. Refer to California condor species account (or subsequent species guidance document; see LMP Part 3 Appendix H) for additional guidance. S29: Avoid collection of special forest products where it may Not applicable for this project. negatively affect recovery or occupied habitat of threatened, endangered and proposed species, except where it is appropriate in response to requests from Native Americans. S30: Avoid activities that result in removal, crushing, burying, Not applicable for this project. burning, or mowing of host plants within critical and occupied habitat for threatened, endangered, and proposed butterfly species, unless guided differently by a species-specific consultation. S31: Design new facilities or expansion of existing facilities to Not applicable for this project. direct public use away from occupied habitat for threatened,

Appendix A A-21 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Plant, Fish, and Wildlife Standard LMP Consistency Review endangered, proposed, and candidate species. S32: When surveys for species presence/absence are done for This standard has been followed threatened, endangered, and proposed species, use established during surveys in the Project Area. survey protocols, where such protocols exist. S33: Manage Special Interest Areas so that activities and Not applicable for this project. discretionary uses are either neutral or beneficial for the resource values for which the area was established. Accept short-term adverse impacts to these resource values if such impacts will be compensated by the accrual of long-term benefit. Place-Specific Wildlife and Plant Standards SBNF S4 - Where available, in suitable southern rubber boa This standard is incorporated into the habitat retain a minimum of nine down logs per acre (minimum 12 Design Criteria. inches diameter and 180 total linear feet) except in Wildland- Urban-Interface Defense Zones and fuelbreaks. Give preference to large diameter logs (Arrowhead, Big Bear, Big Bear Back Country, Front Country, Garner Valley, Idyllwild, Silverwood, San Gorgonio, and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument Places). SBNF S5 - Evaluate potential long-term impacts of new projects This standard is incorporated into the and activities on important landscape level habitats that are Design Criteria. identified in the Places. These include landscape linkages, wildlife movement corridors, key deer and bighorn sheep fawning and lambing areas and winter ranges, and raptor nesting sites. Minimize or mitigate impacts to maintain their functionality over the long term (all Places). SBNF S6 - Provide compatible management on those portions of No MSHCPs are in place for the National Forest System land designated as being part of Multiple Project Area. Species Habitat Conservation Plans (MSHCP) under the National Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Coachella Valley Plan: San Bernardino Front Country, San Gorgonio, and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Places; Mojave Plan: Big Bear, Cajon, Desert Rim, Mojave Front Country, and Silverwood Places; and Western Riverside County Plan: Anza, Idyllwild, and San Bernardino Front Country Places). S6: Seed to be used on National Forest System lands will be This standard is incorporated into the certified to be free of noxious weeds. Where available, only Design Criteria. locally collected native seed will be used, or seeds will be used from species that are non-invasive and nonpersistent. When available, wattles, mulch and livestock feed to be used on National Forest System lands will be certified to be free of noxious weeds.

This project was developed to be consistent with the Conservation Strategy for the California Spotted Owl (USDA Forest Service 2004). Treatment level desired conditions were developed based on direction in the Strategy. Fuels management guidelines and how they were incorporated are shown in Table A-2. Table A- 2. Fuels Management Guidelines from the Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy Guideline How Guideline was Incorporated in Angelus Oaks Project Apply the LOP guidelines. The Design Criteria include the LOP guidelines.

Appendix A A-22 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Guideline How Guideline was Incorporated in Angelus Oaks Project Manage habitat through indirect fuels Has been incorporated into the project design. management when stand conditions within PACs do not include an unacceptably high accumulation of fuels. A biologist will consult with fuels specialist and silviculturist to determine treatment needs. When planning projects, evaluate the potential Has been incorporated into the project design. to protect or enhance habitat. Priority should be given to areas that support a This Project Area was selected based on the risk to concentration of PACs or to PACs on the edge communities of Angelus Oaks and surrounding of mountain ranges. areas, but does include several PACs as discussed in the analysis. Limit fuels treatments within PACs to no more The percentage of PAC treated since 2003 is 4.2% than 5% of the PAC acreage in a mountain by SBNF treatments and 3.9% by other agencies, for range per year and 25% of the mountain range a total of 8% of the PAC acreage in the San PAC per decade. Bernardino Mountains. The SBNF did not conduct vegetation management projects in the San Bernardino Mountains between 2000 and 2003. Monitor spotted owl occupancy and Monitoring will continue through 2011. After that, productivity. monitoring is uncertain (and probably unlikely) due to budget cutbacks. Adhere to regional direction for annosus root Has been incorporated into the project design. disease prevention. Vegetation treatments in PACs and HRCs Has been incorporated into the project design. should be designed with the goal of improving spotted owl habitat.

Appendix A A-23 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

The Habitat Management Guide for Southern Rubber Boa (Charina bottae umbratica) on the San Bernardino National Forest (1985) was also used to develop this project and Design Criteria (Table A-3). Table A- 3. Habitat Management Direction for Southern Rubber Boas Guideline How Guideline was Incorporated in Angelus Oaks Project Retain 2–3 logs per acre and snags for future Retention numbers as directed in project Design replacement. Criteria exceed these guidelines. Exceptions allowed to meet fuels objectives, though Lop and scatter or leave slash piles for cover, Incorporated in the Design Criteria. where possible. Protect rock outcrops, springs, seeps, and Incorporated in the Design Criteria. riparian areas from mechanical disturbance where possible. Close roads and skid trails to public vehicular use unless needed to meet access objectives.

Table A-4 outlines the key laws and regulations that will be complied with in implementation of the Boa Understory Burn Project. A- 4. Compliance with Laws and Regulations and other Guidelines Law or Regulation How Law/Regulation was Incorporated in Angelus Oaks Project Migratory Bird Treaty Act Design Criteria provide for avoidance of nests where possible. PIF guidelines were used in developing treatments. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act Not applicable for this project. Endangered Species Act Impacts to T/E species and Critical Habitat will be controlled through project design and Design Criteria. Consultation with USFWS is being covered through the Section 7 Counterpart Regulations. USFWS Biological Opinions Terms and Conditions from several BOs are being followed in this project: • Programmatic Hazardous Fuels BO 2005 • Pebble Plain Plants BO 1999 • Meadow Plants BO 2001 • Carbonate Plants BO 1999 • Riparian Obligate BO 2000 • LMP BO 2001 and 2005

REFERENCES USDA Forest Service. 2005a. San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan. R5-MB-084. September 2005.

Appendix A A-24 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

APPENDIX B: SPECIES HABITAT MAPS

LIST OF MAPS

Map B-1. California Spotted Owl Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area Map B-2. Modeled Southern Rubber Boa Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area Map B-3. Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Modeled Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area Map B-4. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Modeled Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area Map B-5. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Designated Critical Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area Map B-6. Soils and Hydrology Modeling Reference Map Map B-7. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Mapped Occupied and Suitable Habitat in the Cold Creek Watershed

Appendix B B-1 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-1. California Spotted Owl Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area

Appendix B B-2 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-2. Southern Rubber Boa Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area

Appendix B B-3 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-3. Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Modeled Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area

Appendix B B-4 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-4. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Modeled Habitat and Limited Operating Period in the Angelus Oaks Project Area

Appendix B B-5 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-5. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Designated Critical Habitat in the Angelus Oaks Project Area

Appendix B B-6 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-6. Soils and Hydrology Modeling Reference Map

Appendix B B-7 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

Map B-7. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Mapped Occupied and Suitable Habitat in the Cold Creek Watershed

Appendix B B-8 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

APPENDIX C: BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES*

The Forest Service has established a set of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for water quality management on forest lands in California (USDA Forest Service 2000). A BMP is a practice, or a combination of practices, that is determined by a state or designated area- wide planning agency to be the most effective, practicable means of preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by non-point sources to a level compatible with water quality goals. BMPs are certified by the California State Water Resources Control Board and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), in compliance with section 208 of the Clean Water Act. The following BMPs are recommended for the Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project:

• Practice 1-8. Streamside Management Zone Designation. A Riparian Conservation Area (RCA) will be designated along riparian areas to minimize adverse effects. • Practice 2-2. Erosion Control Plan. An erosion control plan will be developed to prevent road maintenance and project-related, road use-generated erosion from entering stream courses. • Practice 2-12. Servicing and Refueling of Equipment. Service and refueling areas will be established well away from wet areas and surface flow. • Practice 2-16. Stream Crossings on Temporary Roads. The number of crossings will be kept to a minimum for access. Crossings will be as perpendicular to the stream course as possible. • Practice 5-5. Disposal of Organic Debris. Sufficient vegetation debris will be retained on site to prevent gully and surface erosion, and to promote infiltration. • Practice 5-8. Pesticide Application. Herbicides used to control Spanish broom will be applied according to label directions and applicable law. • Practice 5-9. Pesticide Application Monitoring. Appropriate monitoring protocols will be used to ensure herbicide was applied according to requirements. • Practice 5-10. Pesticide Spill Contingency Plan. An herbicide plan will be prepared to prevent or correct accidental spills that might contaminate water bodies. • Practice 5-11. Cleaning and Disposal of Pesticide Containers and Equipment. Containers and equipment will be disposed of in accordance with regulations to prevent water contamination. • Practice 6-1. Fire and Fuel Management Activities. Fuel management will be implemented through normal program planning and budgeting, and the NEPA processes. • Practice 6-2. Consideration of Water Quality in Formulating Fire Prescriptions. Factors that influence fire intensity, and therefore directly affect resultant ground cover, and formation of water-repellant layers must be considered when designing fire prescriptions.

Appendix C C-1 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

• Practice 6-3. Protection of Water Quality from Prescribed Burning Effects. Soil productivity and water quality is maintained by minimizing erosion on hill slopes and delivery of ash, sediment, nutrients, and debris to stream channels.

*From the Project Soils and Hydrology Report (Geomorphis 2011).

Appendix C C-2 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

APPENDIX D. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELEVANT DESIGN CRITERIA FROM THE 2009 SPANISH BROOM PROJECT

2009 Biological Assessment/Evaluation Wildlife and Botany Report for Spanish Broom Control Along Evacuation Routes (Kopp, et al 2009).

The SBNF will use several methods to control Spanish Broom including: • Cutting shrubs with hand saws and chainsaws leaving roots in place, then applying herbicide to the cut-stumps immediately using paintbrush-type or wick applicators; • Mowing, weed whipping, and clipping of flowers to prevent seed production and spread of seeds; • Hand-pulling seedlings and young plants, where possible; • Pulling out large plants with a pry-bar type tool called a weed wrench; • Applying mulch or “solarization covers” in some locations to block light and/or to heat the soil to prevent germination of the broom seed bank, to kill broom seedlings and to experiment with the solarization of cut stumps; • Re-treating Spanish broom plants that re-sprout using the same techniques. • Establishing vegetative cover in high priority locations by seeding with locally-collected native seed after shrub treatments and subsequent seedling removal; • Securely transporting all cut Spanish broom plants including seeds to a SBNF station and pile burning to prevent the spread and sprouting of live seed; • Utilizing aquatically-labeled glyphosate (such as Rodeo or the equivalent) as the only herbicide; • Utilizing the herbicide at full strength with no surfactants added and adding a short- lasting colorant (such as Hi-Light Blue or the equivalent) to the herbicide as an indicator of treated stumps; • The glyphosate concentration would be reduced over time if application indicates a reduced strength will result in the effective control of Spanish broom; • Herbicide application would be consistent with the Forest Service Pesticide Use Policy, would be in compliance with state and federal regulations, and would follow Region 5 Best Management Practices for Water Quality and Vegetation Manipulation and the Region 5 supplement No. 2100-95-1 to 2150 on Pesticide-Use Management and Coordination; • The SBNF will work with Caltrans to complete a Spanish Broom Management Plan to prevent the future spread of Spanish broom throughout these highways; • The Design Criteria in Table D1 would be utilized to avoid or mitigate potential effects of the proposed action.

Table D1. Project Design Criteria Included as Part of the Proposed Action General Safety for Herbicide Application G - 1 Any application of herbicides would be supervised by a licensed applicator or the applicator would receive annual training by a licensed applicator to work in their absence as per California State regulations. G - 2 Posting of the area for public notice during the herbicide application and the Restricted Entry Interval will follow County requirements.

Appendix D D-1 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

G - 3 A short-lasting colorant (Hi-light blue or the equivalent) would be added to the herbicide as an indicator of treated stumps.

Water Quality WQ - 1 Best Management Practices (BMPs) (FS 2000) for pesticide use and erosion would be implemented during all activities associated with this proposed action. Specifically, BMP PRACTICES: 5-7 through 5-13 would be used to protect water quality in the project area. WQ - 2 Water quality and hydrologic considerations were incorporated into the pesticide use planning process (PRACTICE: 5-7). WQ - 3 Pesticides would be applied according to label directions and applicable legal requirements (PRACTICE: 5-8). WQ - 4 Pesticide application would be monitored and evaluated to determine whether pesticides have been applied safely and restricted to intended target areas (PRACTICE: 5-10). WQ - 5 A pesticide spill contingency plan has been prepared and is incorporated into the Project Safety Plan so that accidental spills of herbicide could be responded to quickly and efficiently (PRACTICE: 5-10). WQ - 6 Cleaning and disposing of pesticide containers would be done in accordance with Federal, State, and local laws, regulations, and directives. Specific procedures are documented in the Forest Service Pesticide Use Management and Coordination Handbook (FSH 2109.114) (PRACTICE: 5-11). WQ - 7 To minimize the amount of chemical that could enter a waterway in the event of a spill, applicators would carry no more than one 2.5 gallon container of herbicide. Cloths would be carried by the applicators to catch any drips from equipment. WQ - 8 Herbicide containers would be made of plastic to reduce the risk of breaking or cracking during project implementation (PRACTICE: 5-13). WQ - 9 Herbicide application would not be allowed within 100 feet of each side of the high water mark, defined as the high water line associated with “bankful” discharge of perennial streams, or the mean high waterline of lakes, ponds, wetlands, seeps, meadows, and springs. Buffer distances are based on horizontal distances. WQ - 10 Herbicide application would be restricted to cut and daub application method only. Only the herbicide described below would be utilized. WQ - 11 Only aquatically-labeled glyphosate (such as Rodeo or the equivalent) would be used. No surfactants would be used. WQ - 12 No herbicide application would occur if precipitation is occurring or if a 30 percent or higher chance of rainfall is predicted to occur by the National Weather Service within 24 hours. During application, trained personnel would monitor weather conditions periodically. WQ - 13 Herbicides would be applied as soon as possible after the rainy season to allow as much time as possible for degradation. Erosion Control EC - 1 High erosion hazard areas would be identified to adjust treatment measures to prevent downstream water quality degradation (PRACTICE: 1-3) EC - 2 In locations where native vegetation is present, the work area that is accessible to vehicles would be defined. (PRACTICE: 1-13)

Appendix D D-2 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

EC - 3 Vehicles would remain on existing roads, roadsides or turnouts to avoid soil and native vegetation disturbance. (PRACTICE: 1-14). EC - 4 High erosion hazard locations will be targeted for revegetation. Use the “Revegetation and Monitoring Plan for Spanish Broom Control along Evacuation Routes” document that is attached as Appendix C in the Biological Assessment/Evaluation for this project. Non-Forest Service Lands L - 1 When applying herbicide on NFS lands that are adjacent to private lands, no herbicide would be applied within 15-feet of private lands. See also WQ-1 above. Heritage Resource Protection HR-1 All personnel including USFS, CalFire and any contracted personnel removing Spanish broom will be instructed on the protocol to follow if previously unknown heritage resource sites are discovered during project activities. This includes stopping work immediately and notification of Forest Heritage Resource staff. Heritage Resource staff would follow existing protocols for notification of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Adverse effects to sites would be avoided. Critical Biological Land Use Zones CBZ - 1 To reduce herbicide risk, application would not be allowed within 100 feet of each side of the high water mark of City Creek. Eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers WSR-1 To reduce herbicide risk, application would not be allowed within 100 feet of each side of the high water mark of the Bear Creek and Santa Ana Eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers. Wildlife/Aquatic Protection WL - 1 Areas with known Sensitive wildlife species on NFS lands would be delineated on the ground to ensure avoidance of herbicide application and biological monitors may be used as necessary. WL - 2 All avoidance or special treatment areas will be delineated on maps for the project manager to use during implementation. WL - 3 Removal of weeds by hand and seed collecting at known Sensitive wildlife species locations may occur if a biological monitor is present to ensure avoidance of impacts. WL - 4 Removal of weeds by hand and seed collecting within the 100-foot buffer zone around non-TES riparian habitat may occur if a biological monitor is present and guiding the activities to ensure that minimal impacts occur in riparian/aquatic habitats. Crew members will be directed to avoid activities within the streambank and channel to reduce increase in erosion/ sedimentation. WL - 5 Where use of chain saws is necessary within ¼-mile of known California spotted owl nests, a biologist will determine if the noise will raise ambient noise levels at the actual nest locations. If noise levels cannot be kept to ambient levels or cannot be limited to two hours or less, the project activities will be conducted outside of the nesting season (February 1st – August 15th). WL - 6 Project administrators, inspectors, and crews will be provided training to avoid impacts to rare animals (including rare amphibians and reptiles) within project areas and provided direction for what to do if those species are encountered (including

Appendix D D-3 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

notification of a District biologist). WL - 7 Implementation personnel will be provided training to recognize bird nests. Prior to cutting of Spanish broom plants, the plant will be inspected for obvious bird nests. If a nest is located, the plant will be left until a biologist determines that it is no longer being used. WL - 8 When work is being done in high quality rubber boa habitat or any other Sensitive species occurrence (as delineated by the District biologist prior to project implementation), a biological monitor will work with the crews to increase awareness and help reduce the likelihood of impacts. WL - 9 Crews working in and around aquatic habitats will use standard sanitation methods (as prescribed by the Forest Aquatic Biologist) to ensure that diseases/pathogens/non-native species (e.g., chytrid fungus, quagga mussels, zebra mussels, etc.) are not spread between aquatic systems. WL - 10 The project activities would only be implemented after sunrise and prior to sunset. Threatened & Endangered Wildlife Species and Critical Habitat TE - 1 Areas with known T/E wildlife species on NFS lands would be delineated on the ground to ensure avoidance of herbicide application and biological monitors may be used as necessary. Areas with modeled habitat for T/E wildlife species will be treated as though they are occupied unless habitat assessments determine that the site is not suitable or unless protocol surveys determine that the target species is not present. TE - 2 No activities will occur within 100-feet of known occupied, suitable, or designated critical southwestern willow flycatcher habitats during the nesting season (May 1st – August 31st) and occupied or suitable Least Bell’s vireo habitat during the nesting season (March 15th – September 15th) unless protocol surveys have determined that nesting is not occurring and unless a biologist determines that the noise will not raise noise levels above the ambient levels in the suitable habitat. TE - 3 For least Bell’s vireo and southwestern willow flycatchers, hand treatments in occupied, suitable, or critical habitat may occur outside of the nesting season as long as native riparian vegetation is not removed. TE - 4 Herbicide application will not occur within 100’ of known occupied, suitable, and/or designated critical habitats for mountain yellow-legged frog and arroyo toad. Mountain yellow-legged frog designated critical habitat will be defined for this project as locations where Primary Constituent Elements are present. Thus, design criteria will not be applied broadly across the loosely mapped critical habitat found in the GIS layer. TE - 5 Removal of weeds by hand and seed collecting at known TE wildlife species locations (with the exception of known occupied arroyo toad and mountain yellow-legged frog sites) may occur if a biological monitor is present to ensure avoidance of impacts. TE - 6 Where only a few Spanish broom plants occur in the treatment zone within known occupied mountain yellow-legged frog habitat or critical habitat stream reaches, hand- pulling of weeds may occur under these conditions: only 3 people (2 crew members and 1 biologist) would be allowed within the 100-foot zone around the habitat. Those three people would conduct the weed removal treatment by hand. They would not enter the water. This treatment would be conducted outside the breeding season (2/1 to 10/31). No other activities (including seed collecting) would occur within the 100- foot buffer.

Appendix D D-4 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

TE - 7 Where only a few Spanish broom plants occur in the treatment zone within known occupied arroyo toad habitat, hand-pulling of weeds may occur under these conditions: only 3 people (2 crew members and 1 biologist) would be allowed within the 100-foot zone around the habitat. Those three people would conduct the hand-removal treatment. This treatment would occur during breeding season when toads are more likely to be in or close to the water. No other activities (including seed collecting) would occur within the 100-buffer. TE - 8 Cut weeds will not be piled or stored within arroyo toad upland habitat or within the 100-buffer for mountain yellow-legged frog and breeding arroyo toad habitat. They will be removed immediately to minimize amphibian usage. Threatened & Endangered Plant Species, Critical Habitat and R5 Sensitive Plant Species RP - 1 Where ever Spanish broom plants are located within 100’ of known TES plants or within Critical Habitat on NFS lands, a botanical monitor will be present during weed treatment (by any method) to ensure avoidance of impacts. Because of the direct application of herbicide to Spanish broom (and no spraying), no buffer is needed around T/E plants. RP - 2 Areas with known TES plant species on NFS lands would be delineated on the ground to ensure avoidance of impacts (e.g., TES plants will not be stepped or driven on or dug up and native seed selection will complement and not compete with rare plants). RP - 3 Project administrators, inspectors, and crews will be provided training to avoid impacts to TES plants within project areas on NFS lands and provided direction for what to do if those species are encountered (including notification of District botanist). Invasive Species IS - 1 Broom plant removal would be completed prior to seed set or after seeds have dispersed to the greatest extent possible. When not possible, plants would be covered during transportation off site. Loading sites would be checked to ensure fallen seed or fruits are removed. IS - 2 Vehicles transporting cut broom plants with seed present for burning at City Creek Ranger Station shall have their tires, undercarriage and beds washed on the asphalt prior to leaving the station (for broom and tocolote). IS - 3 In other locations, where practical, vehicles and equipment would be cleaned (including personal protective clothing) prior to leaving treated areas or entering new areas. IS - 4 Parking on and transport of seed or plant part propagules of other noxious and nonnative invasive plants listed in the Weed Risk Assessment section of this analysis shall be avoided to the greatest extent possible by using uninfested areas for staging, parking and cleaning equipment. IS - 5 To provide competition against broom seed germination, native vegetation within and adjacent to broom removal sites shall be protected to the greatest extent possible during all project activities, including parking and staging. IS - 6 In uninvaded areas, the native seedbank will be protected. Soil, duff and litter shall be minimally disturbed to keep seed bank intact. Topsoil with native seed banks shall not be covered with plastic or other materials that could destroy seed by heating.

Appendix D D-5 Biological Assessment/Evaluation, Wildlife Report and MIS Assessment Angelus Oaks Understory Burn Project

IS - 7 Forest Plan Standard S6 will be utilized to ensure native seed mix and mulch used in the project will be weed free or originate from weed free sources. IS - 8 Broom removal sites with other non-native plants present will be given second priority (after highly erosive sites) for revegetation using native seed.

Appendix D D-6