Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
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Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan Amendment and Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Natural Resource Center Prepared by: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Complex 3888 SR 101 Ilwaco, Washington 98624 September 2017 Acronyms/Abbreviations Acronym Full Phrase ADA Americans With Disabilities Act BMP Best Management Practice BTU British Thermal Unit CCP Comprehensive Conservation Plan CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFR Code of Federal Regulations CO2 Carbon dioxide dBA Decibels DM Departmental Manual EA Environmental Assessment EDNA Environmental Designation for Noise Abatement EIS Environmental Impact Statement EO Executive Order ESA Endangered Species Act EUI Energy Use Intensity FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency FHWA Federal Highway Administration FIRM Flood Insurance Rate Map FLAP Federal Lands Access Program FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact FR Federal Register ft2 Square foot, square feet GHG Greenhouse gas 1 kBTU/ft2/yr Thousands of British Thermal Units per square foot per year LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NO2 Nitrogen dioxide NOx Nitrogen oxides NRCS Natural Resource Conservation Service NWR National Wildlife Refuge NWI National Wetlands Inventory O3 Ozone PCEMA Pacific County Emergency Management Agency PEM Palustrine emergent PFO Palustrine forested PM2.5 Particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers PM10 Particulate matter less than 10 micrometers PSS Palustrine scrub-shrub PUBH Palustrine unconsolidated bottom permanently flooded PUD Public Utility District Refuge Willapa National Wildlife Refuge ROD Record of Decision SHPO State Historic Preservation Office SO2 Sulfur dioxide U.S.C. United States Code USFWS/Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WAC Washington Administrative Code WDFW Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 2 WRP Wetlands Reserve Program 3 Table of Contents 1 Purpose of and Need for Action 7 1.1 Introduction 7 1.2 Amending the 2011 CCP/EIS 7 1.3 Proposed Action 8 1.4 Purpose of and Need for Action 8 1.5 Decision to be Made 9 2 Alternatives 10 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 No Action (2011 CCP/EIS Alternative 1) 10 2.3 Construct Natural Resource Center on the Tarlatt Unit (2011 CCP/EIS Alternatives 2 and 3) 12 2.4 Construct Natural Resource Center on the Riekkola Unit (Preferred New Alternative) 13 2.5 Design Elements Common to Both the Tarlatt and Riekkola Units 14 2.5.1 New Trails & Roads 16 2.5.2 Federal Lands Access Projects 18 2.6 Design Elements Only at Tarlatt 18 2.7 Design Elements Only at Riekkola 18 2.8 Design Elements Summary 19 2.9 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Detailed Study 20 2.9.1 Constructing the Natural Resource Center off Refuge Land 20 2.9.2 Constructing the Natural Resource Center on Tarlatt Hill 20 3 Affected Environment 22 3.1 Introduction 22 3.2 Tarlatt Site 22 3.3 Riekkola Site 26 3.3.1 Riekkola Site Natural Environment 26 3.3.1.1 Topography and Soils 26 3.3.1.2 Water Features, Floodplains, Wetlands 27 3.3.1.3 Air Quality 27 3.3.1.4 Wildlife Habitat and Use 27 3.3.1.5 Special Status Plant and Animal Species 29 3.3.1.5.1 Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) 29 3.3.1.5.2 Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) 29 4 3.3.1.5.3 Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) 30 3.3.1.5.4 Streaked Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata) 31 3.3.1.5.5 Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) 31 3.3.1.5.6 Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) 32 3.3.1.5.7 Oregon Silverspot Butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) 32 3.3.1.6 Noise 32 3.3.1.7 Visual and Aesthetic Resources 33 3.3.2 Riekkola Site Built Environment 34 3.3.2.1 Socioeconomic Environment and Public Uses 34 3.3.2.2 Environmental Justice 35 3.3.2.3 Cultural Resources 35 4 Environmental Consequences 37 4.1 Introduction 37 4.2 Alternative 1: No Action 38 4.3 Alternatives 2 and 3: Construct Natural Resource Center on the Tarlatt Unit 38 4.4 Construct Natural Resource Center on the Riekkola Unit (Preferred New Alternative) 38 4.4.1 Natural Environment 38 4.4.1.1 Topography and Soils 38 4.4.1.2 Water Features, Floodplains, Wetlands 39 4.4.1.3 Air Quality 39 4.4.1.4 Wildlife Habitat and Use 39 4.4.1.5 Special Status Plant and Animal Species 40 4.4.1.5.1 Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) 40 4.4.1.5.2 Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) 40 4.4.1.5.3 Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) 41 4.4.1.5.4 Streaked Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata) 41 4.4.1.5.5 Yellow-billed Cuckoo 41 4.4.1.5.6 Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) 41 4.4.1.5.7 Oregon Silverspot Butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) 42 4.4.1.6 Noise 42 4.4.1.7 Visual and Aesthetic Resources 42 4.4.2 Built Environment 43 4.4.2.1 Socioeconomic Environment and Public Uses 43 4.4.2.2 Environmental Justice 44 5 4.4.2.3 Cultural Resources 44 4.5 Cumulative Effects 46 4.6 Summary 46 5 Coordination, Consultation, and Compliance 50 5.1 Public Involvement 50 5.2 Environmental Review and Compliance 52 5.2.1 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. §4321 et seq.) 52 5.2.2 Executive Order 11593: Protection of Historical, Archaeological, and Scientific Properties and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended )(16 U.S.C. 470- 470x) 53 5.2.3 Executive Order 12996. Management and General Public Use of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd- 668ee) 53 5.2.4 Executive Order 11988: Floodplain Management 53 5.2.5 Executive Order 11990: Protection of Wetlands 54 5.2.6 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Secretarial Order 3127 54 5.2.7 Executive Order 12372. Intergovernmental Review 54 5.2.8 Executive Order 12898. Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority and Low-Income Populations 54 5.2.9 The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) 55 5.2.10 Executive Order 13186. Responsibilities of Federal Agencies to Protect Migratory Birds 55 5.2.11 Executive Order 13112. Responsibilities of Federal Agencies Pertaining to Invasive Species 55 6 Literature Cited 56 APPENDIX A ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT SECTION 7 CONSULTATION 59 6 1 Purpose of and Need for Action 1.1 Introduction In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or Service) completed a Comprehensive Conservation Plan /Environmental Impact Statement (2011 CCP/EIS) for the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). The EIS presented three alternative management strategies for the Refuge. A Record of Decision (ROD) was signed on September 29, 2011 selecting Alternative 2 as the management direction for the Refuge over the next 15 years (USFWS 2011a). Alternative 2 focuses management on healthy wildlife habitats, endangered species and biodiversity gains, refuge expansion, and expanded public use. As described in the 2011 CCP/EIS, expanded public use included constructing a new Natural Resource Center. As described in the ROD, the Service would develop a new Natural Resource Center on the Tarlatt Unit to serve as a new administrative/maintenance and visitor facility. The Natural Resource Center would improve visitor services, help conserve crucial wildlife habitat, improve staff productivity, consolidate maintenance facilities, serve as an interpretive area, and eliminate increasing operations and maintenance costs of the old facilities. With construction of the Natural Resource Center (and the addition of an education specialist), the Service would greatly enhance the quality of the environmental education and interpretation programs and would increase the number of students and visitors currently served by the program. The site for the new facility, conceptual design and operations, and anticipated impacts were analyzed in the 2011 CCP/EIS (USFWS 2011a) which is incorporated herein by reference. The ROD which selected the location and the facility design elements for the new Natural Resource Center was included with the 2011 CCP/EIS and is also incorporated herein by reference. These documents are available for review and downloading on the Refuge’s website (https://www.fws.gov/refuge/willapa/conservation/comprehensive_conservation_plan.html). The 2011 CCP/EIS was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR §§ 1500 -1508). Based on comments received during local agency and public coordination meetings for the new Natural Resource Center subsequent to issuing the ROD, the Service is examining a different site for the Natural Resource Center facility. The site under consideration is on the Riekkola Unit where an equipment maintenance and storage yard currently is located. The site would be out of the Tsunami Zone and a new Natural Resource Center could potentially serve as an assembly area in the event of a tsunami striking the area. This Environmental Assessment (EA) describes this new alternative and examines the reasonably foreseeable effects to the natural and built environments related to constructing the Natural Resource Center on the Riekkola Unit. An EA is prepared for proposals that modify an earlier EIS when the changed effects are not significant and still within the scope of the earlier EIS (516 DM 1.14) as is the case here.