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Ecological Assessment Report Ecological Assessment Report Lake Lorna Doone Park in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 29 East City of Orlando, Orange County, Florida GAI Project Number: A161291.00 January 16, 2019 Prepared by: GAI Consultants, Inc. Prepared for: Florida Citrus Sports Orlando Office 1 Citrus Bowl Place 618 East South Street, Suite 700 Orlando, Florida 32805 Orlando, Florida 32801 Ecological Assessment Report Lake Lorna Doone Park in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 29 East City of Orlando, Orange County, Florida GAI Project Number: A161291.00 January 16, 2019 Prepared for: Florida Citrus Sports 1 Citrus Bowl Place Orlando, Florida 32805 Prepared by: GAI Consultants, Inc. Orlando Office 618 East South Street, Suite 700 Orlando, Florida 32801 Report Authors: Don J. Silverberg, M.S., PWS Environmental Manager, Environmental Services George T. Reese, CE Environmental Director / Assistant Vice President Ecological Assessment Report Lake Lorna Doone Park Page i in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 29 East Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 2.0 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 1 3.0 Existing Site Conditions ........................................................................................................ 1 3.1 Location ................................................................................................................... 1 3.2 Topography and Drainage .......................................................................................... 2 3.3 Soils ......................................................................................................................... 2 3.4 Land Use and Vegetation ........................................................................................... 3 4.0 Threatened and Endangered Species ..................................................................................... 3 5.0 Proposed Alterations to Waters of Florida .............................................................................. 5 6.0 Alternatives Analysis, Avoidance, and Minimization ................................................................. 5 7.0 Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Assessment ..................................................................... 5 8.0 Mitigation ............................................................................................................................ 6 9.0 Turbidity and Erosion Control ................................................................................................ 6 Figures Appendix A Information Sources Appendix B Wildlife Agency Correspondence Appendix C Environmental Resource Permitting Tables Appendix D State Sovereign Lands Title Determination © 2019 GAI Consultants A161291.00 / January 16, 2019 Ecological Assessment Report Lake Lorna Doone Park Page 1 in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 29 East 1.0 Introduction Pursuant to the request of Florida Citrus Sports, GAI Consultants, Inc. (GAI) conducted an ecological assessment of the proposed Lake Lorna Doone Park project area located on Lake Lorna Doone adjacent to the Camping World Stadium in the city of Orlando, Orange County, Florida. The purpose of our assessment was to document the presence of ecological conditions occurring on-site that may pose constraints to the proposed improvements to an existing recreational park within the project area. The scope of this investigation was limited to biological elements such as plant community characterization, wetland delineation, and federal or state listed plant and animal species. This report serves to document the findings from our investigation and is provided to accompany the “Joint Application” for a South Florida Water Management District (District) Submerged Lands Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Federal Dredge and Fill permit. Specifically, the contents of this report address the ecological issues identified within the District’s Applicant’s Handbook, Volume 1, and Section C of the District’s ERP application package. This report also serves to address permitting issues imposed by the Corps under the Section 404 b(1) Guidelines of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (as amended). This report also accompanies the engineering design plans and calculations for the proposed park improvements and its associated infrastructure. 2.0 Methodology The project area was investigated through review of published information (Appendix A). Further, GAI staff conducted a review of the State’s database of species occurrence records and the bald eagle nest location database (Appendix B). Finally, a field inspection was conducted on June 19, 2017 by ecologists familiar with the natural communities of Florida to determine the vegetative communities present within the parcel, and determine the presence of, or potential for utilization by, listed plant or animal species. The landward extent of wetlands and other surface waters within the project area were delineated in accordance with the 2010 Final Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual (1987) and the Unified Wetland Delineation Methodology for the State of Florida dated 1 July 1994. The wetland limits have been located by a licensed surveyor, and serve as a basis for the discussions herein and for the design plans prepared for the project. The field investigations also allowed the ecologists to confirm or amend the information collected from database searches and the review of published information. Vegetative community types and general observations were recorded via field data sheets and photographs taken of the project area. A list of plant species encountered was recorded for the parcel. This list reflects representative species observed within the project area and is not necessarily a complete floristic inventory. The project area was reviewed for the presence of any listed animals through actual observation, signs of scat, prints, or other indications of their presence or utilization of the site. Statements regarding listed species are based on limited field observations and existing data records, and do not exclude the possibility that listed species may occasionally forage on-site or may move onto the parcel at a later date, or that protected plants may be discovered on-site when blooming structures are apparent. 3.0 Existing Site Conditions 3.1 Location The Lake Lorna Doone Park project area covers approximately 17.6± acres and is located in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 29 East in the City of Orlando, Orange County, Florida (Figure 1). The project area is located just west of downtown Orlando and is adjacent to the Camping World Stadium. The project area is bordered by residential and commercial/retail facilities to the east, by Church Street A161291.00 / January 16, 2019 Ecological Assessment Report Lake Lorna Doone Park Page 2 in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 29 East and the Camping World Stadium to the south, by Tampa Avenue and a residential development to the west, and by residential and institutional developments to the north. 3.2 Topography and Drainage The United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map (Orlando West, FL Quadrangle) depicts the project area as being relatively level with elevations of approximately 100 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD). Drainage appears to occur through direct soil percolation, sheet flow to wetlands associated with Lake Lorna Doone, and collection by curb and gutter systems that direct water to storm drains that eventually also outfall to Lake Lorna Doone. Lake Lorna Doone appears to be a closed basin with no connectivity to other Waters of the State or Waters of the United States. The site is located in the South Florida Water Management District’s (District) Shingle Creek Hydrologic Basin. 3.3 Soils Soil mapping often provides an indication of the historic and/or current conditions of a site, the potential for presence of sensitive plant communities (e.g., wetlands, scrub, etc.), and/or the potential for presence of listed plants and animal species that are typically limited to specific plant communities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in the Soils Survey of Orange County, Florida (1989), identified three soil types within the project limits (Table 1, Figure 3). All three soil types contain a component of Urban land, in which native soil areas have been reworked associated with development, and may include filling, excavation, grading, and compaction. These alterations are such that the assumptions associated with the native/original soil type mapped for the area may no longer be applicable. Millhopper soils are typically found on low sandy ridges in flatwood areas, while Wabasso soils are typical of lower and level areas with flatwoods. Lake Lorna Doone is mapped as Open Water. The current status of these soils may be quite different from the NRCS description due to the effects of adjacent development and previously implemented drainage activities. Table 1 Classification of On-Site Soils Soil Map Unit1 Drainage Class Significant Hydrologic Hydric Group Inclusions2 Millhopper-Urban Land Complex, Moderately well drained/N.A.3 No A; N.A. 0 – 5 percent slopes (24) Urban Land (50) Poorly drained Yes N.A Wabasso-Urban Land Complex Poorly drained/N.A. Yes B/D; N.A. (52) Open Water
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