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(Sbinet) Tucson West Tower Project, Ajo, Tucson, Casa Grande, Nogales, and Sonoita Stations Area of Operation, U.S

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(Sbinet) Tucson West Tower Project, Ajo, Tucson, Casa Grande, Nogales, and Sonoita Stations Area of Operation, U.S United States Department of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite 103 Phoenix, Arizona 85021-4951 Telephone: (602) 242-0210 FAX: (602) 242-2513 In Reply Refer To: September 4, 2008 AESO/SE 22410-2008-F-0373 Mr. John Santo Acting Program Manager, SBInet U.S. Department of Homeland Security SBInet Program Management Office U.S. Customs and Border Protection 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, D.C. 20229 RE: Biological Opinion on Secure Border Initiative (SBInet) Tucson West Tower Project, Ajo, Tucson, Casa Grande, Nogales, and Sonoita Stations Area of Operation, U.S. Border Patrol, Tucson Sector, Arizona Dear Mr. Santo: Thank you for your request for formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544), as amended (Act). Your request was dated June 19, 2008, and received by us on June 23, 2008. Effects determinations were clarified for a number of species in a June 26, 2008, electronic mail from Glenn Bixler, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At issue are impacts that may result from the proposed SBInet Tucson West Tower Project (proposed action) located in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Cochise, and Santa Cruz counties, Arizona. The proposed action may affect the Chiricahua leopard frog (Lithobates chiricahuensis), Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) and critical habitat, jaguar (Panthera onca), lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), and Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var robustispina). Your agency requested our concurrence that the proposed action may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis occidentalis), Sonora chub (Gila ditaenia) and critical habitat, Sonoran tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium stebbinsi), masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgewayi), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and Huachuca water umbel (Lilaeopsis schaffneriana recurva) and critical habitat. Our concurrences for these species are provided in Appendix A. You also requested consultation on the western yellow- billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americana), a candidate for Federal listing. We do not consult on actions that may affect species that are not proposed or listed under the Act. We will, however, provide technical assistance on this species if requested. 2 This biological opinion is based on information provided in: (1) the June 19, 2008 biological assessment (BA); (2) the June 4, 2008 draft environmental assessment (EA); (3) the January 2008 Harris Environmental biological evaluation for Tucson West; (4) the 2008 Harris Environmental biological evaluation of Tucson East provided by DHS on June 5, 2008; (5) answers from Gulf South Research Corporation (GSRC) in response to specific questions between June 13 and July 3, 2008; (6) telephone conversations and electronic mail messages with DHS and consultants between July 7, 2008 and September 3, 2008; (7) a June 26, 2008, electronic mail message from Glenn Bixler, DHS; (8) telephone conversations and electronic mail messages with Coronado National Memorial, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR), Bureau of Land Management, and Coronado National Forest between June 5 and August 26, 2008; and (9) other sources of published and unpublished information. Literature cited in this biological opinion is not a complete bibliography of all literature available on the species of concern, tower construction, operation, and maintenance and effects or those activities, or on other subjects considered in this opinion. A complete Administrative Record of this consultation is on file at this office. Consultation History May 20, 2008: We received pre-draft BA via electronic mail. May 28, 2008: We participated in an interagency meeting to discuss this consultation. June 4, 2008: We received a draft EA. June 13, 2008: We sent comments on pre-draft BA to GSRC and DHS via electronic mail. June 20, 2008: We sent draft versions of a: (1) project description with request for additional information; (2) best management practices (BMPs); (3) effects table; and (4) mitigation table to GSRC and DHS via electronic mail for review. June 23, 2008: We received request for formal consultation and draft BA. June 25, 2008: We discussed BMPs, mitigation, and effects determination, with DHS and consultants via conference call. June 26, 2008: We received an electronic mail from Glenn Bixler clarifying the effects determinations. June 30, 2008: We received additional information on project description from consultants. July 2, 2008: We received Conservation Best Management Practices input and revised maps from consultants. 3 July 11, 2008: We sent draft biological opinion for agency review. July 7, 2008 to September 3, 2008: We participated in several conference calls and exchanged electronic mail messages to resolve outstanding concerns and information needs regarding your project. During these calls we agreed to a number of Conservation Best Management Practices that are now incorporated into the “Description of the Proposed Action” of this biological opinion. BIOLOGICAL OPINION Description of the Proposed Action The SBInet Tucson West Project includes the use of technology-based solutions to decrease illegal cross-border activities and deter and prevent illegal entries in the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Tucson Sector. This proposed action supports USBP’s mission by strengthening national security between ports of entry (POEs) to prevent illegal entry of terrorists, terrorist weapons, contraband, and illegal entry into the U.S. These technologies will be an integral part of what is referred to as the Common Operating Picture (COP) of the border environment. The COP will provide connectivity with various U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) components, and inter-operability with other Federal, state, and local partners outside of CBP. The Proposed Action is to construct or retrofit, operate, and maintain 56 communication and sensor towers; construct 29 new road segments and repair 19 roads; use mobile surveillance systems; and deploy unattended ground sensors (UGS) (Appendices B-D). Twelve of the 56 towers are existing towers that will be upgraded. All but one of the new towers are less than 200 feet (ft) tall. One tower, powered by wind energy, will include a wind turbine. Additionally, construction of up to three tower sites will require helicopter deployment. Twenty-five of the existing roads leading to 36 tower sites, where data are available, are currently not accessible by 2-wheel drive vehicles. Thirty-six of the 45 new tower sites will require road repair or construction of new road segments. A total of 71,663 ft or 13.57 miles (mi) of road will be repaired or newly constructed. Tower installation will require ground disturbance of 9.97 acres at 44 new sites. A total of 107.97 acres will be temporarily or permanently disturbed by road repairs, new road construction, and tower installation at the new sites. The proposed action will be implemented in a phased-in approach, with completion of tower construction by the end of 2009. The SBInet Tucson West Project represents a stand-alone system of sensors and communication technology and would not dictate the future placement of towers in adjacent areas. The tower locations within the proposed action do not limit or constrain the future deployment strategy or the future deployment asset locations in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge or any other adjacent project area. Future tower projects, however, may communicate information to towers currently being proposed for construction. Once each of the independent SBInet projects is complete and operational, the entire border region would be integrated into a single COP. 4 Location The core area of proposed tower sites are generally located in south-central Arizona near the U.S./Mexico international border from the Baboquivari to the Huachuca Mountains (Figure 1). Additional sites are located near Ajo, Phoenix, Tucson, and Interstate Route 10 (I-10) between Tucson and Benson. The core action area extends north from the U.S./Mexico international border along the central ridge of the Baboquivari Mountains; east across the Altar Valley, Sierrita Mountains, Santa Cruz River, and Santa Rita Mountains, continuing eastward through the Patagonia Mountains, through the Canelo Hills and Huachuca Mountains, and south near the San Pedro River at the U.S./Mexico international border. No towers will be placed in federally designated wilderness areas. The following additional tower sites are disjunct from the core action area. Seven towers follow the I-10 corridor between Tucson and Casa Grande. One tower is north of Interstate Route 8 (I- 8), west of Casa Grande (TCA-AJO-193). The western portion of the action area includes a relay tower site north of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (OPCNM) (TCA-AJO-305). Construction Towers Construction of 56 towers is included in the proposed action (Figure 1). Please refer to the BA for detailed maps of tower locations and access routes (CBP 2008a). Twelve of the 56 involve upgrading existing towers (seven existing USBP towers, four existing commercial towers, and one tower located at the new Ajo USBP Station (Table 1). The remaining 11 upgraded towers will only receive retrofits or upgrades to current tower communication hardware arrays. Table 1. Existing or proposed towers planned for upgrades. Tower ID USBP Station Status TCA-AJO-193 Ajo Commercial TCA-AJO-198 Ajo Commercial TCA-AJO-305 Ajo USBP TCA-CAG-101 Casa Grande USBP TCA-CAG-197 Casa Grande Commercial TCA-TUS-103 Tucson USBP TCA-TUS-108 Tucson USBP TCA-TUS-192 Tucson Commercial TCA-NGL-112 Nogales USBP TCA-NGL-113 Nogales USBP TCA-SON-115 Sonoita USBP TCA-SON-117 Sonoita USBP The 56 proposed towers will include communication and/or sensor technology. Appendices B through D provide a summary of all tower and road metrics and other descriptors. A total of 9.97 acres of habitat will be temporarily or permanently disturbed for tower placement. Towers will typically range in height from 80 ft to 199 ft, although one tower is over 200 ft tall.
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