Baker River Hydroelectric Project Relicensing Comprehensive Settlement Agreement, Signed in November 2004 (Agreement)
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2 Based on the information provided in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, other documents, and conversations with staff from Puget Sound Energy, ACOE, and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), we have concluded that effects to the federally-listed grizzly bear and gray wolf associated with the proposed relicensing of the Baker Project would be insignificant and discountable. Therefore, we concur with your “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” determination for grizzly bear and gray wolf. The FWS disagrees that “may affect, likely to adversely affect” is the appropriate effect determination for bull trout critical habitat. Virtually no areas below the Baker Dams are designated bull trout critical habitat, and therefore we believe that the appropriate determination is “no effect.” The FWS does not concur with the “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” determination for bald eagle, marbled murrelet, marbled murrelet critical habitat, northern spotted owl, and northern spotted owl critical habitat because of the potential for increased disturbance due to construction activities and increased visitor use, the potential to remove critical habitat and/or the potential to increase predation of marbled murrelet nests by corvids. We concur with the “may affect, likely to adversely affect” determination for bull trout. We therefore have conducted a formal consultation on the bald eagle, bull trout, marbled murrelet, marbled murrelet critical habitat, northern spotted owl, and northern spotted owl critical habitat. This consultation is complex, involving two Federal action agencies, the analysis of over 50 license articles proposed in the Baker River Hydroelectric Project Settlement Agreement and covering the effects of a license for operation for up to 50 years. Because the applicant, Puget Sound Energy, has committed to fulfilling all of the Settlement Agreement, and because this commitment is tied to issuance of the license, we have chosen to define the proposed action as it is described in the Settlement Agreement rather than in the DEIS, as you have proposed. Many of the activities evaluated in this consultation will be phased in over the period of the license and are not well defined at this time. In some cases, the applicant, Puget Sound Energy, has committed to providing funds to the USFS for completion of license articles. Where we have enough specific information to quantify effects on listed species, we have included that analysis here. For those future actions that are not currently well-defined, we have assumed a worst-case scenario, or have described the effects in general terms and have identified those actions that we believe will need future consultation tiered to this BO. This BO is based on information provided in the September 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement; the November 30, 2004, Baker River Hydroelectric Project Settlement Agreement; the November 7, 2006, USFS Final 4e Terms and Conditions; the April 30, 2004, license application and associated studies submitted to the Commission by Puget Sound Energy; meetings, telephone conversations, emails, field investigations; and other sources of information. A complete administrative record of this consultation is on file at the FWS’ Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office in Lacey, Washington. GLOSSARY ACOE : U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Act: Endangered Species Act or ESA Action Area: The Baker River watershed and the Skagit River mainstem from the mouth of the Baker to the mouth of the Skagit. Agreement: Settlement Agreement ALP: Alternate Licensing Process Article: Settlement agreement article or license article Cfs: Cubic feet per second DEIS: Draft Environmental Impact Statement FEIS: Final Environmental Impact Statement FERC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FWS: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, referred to as USFWS in citations LWD: Large woody debris NMFS: National Marine Fisheries Service NPS: National Park Service NSO Northern Spotted Owl PCE: Primary constituent element of designated critical habitat Puget: Puget Sound Energy, PSE, or Licensee Parties: Parties that negotiated and signed the Settlement Agreement Services: FWS and NMFS considered together USFS: U.S. Forest Service WDOE: Washington Department of Ecology WDFW: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife WDNR: Washington Department of Natural Resources ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 CONSULTATION HISTORY..................................................................................................... 1 BIOLOGICAL OPINION............................................................................................................ 4 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION..................................................................... 4 Baker Hydroelectric Project Facilities and Operations ........................................................ 5 Upper Baker Development ..................................................................................................... 5 Lower Baker Development..................................................................................................... 6 Hydropower and Flood Control Operations ........................................................................... 6 Baker River Settlement Agreement ........................................................................................ 7 Conservation Measures ............................................................................................................ 7 Action Area................................................................................................................................8 GRAY WOLF LETTER OF CONCURRENCE ....................................................................... 8 GRIZZLY BEAR LETTER OF CONCURRENCE................................................................ 14 INTRODUCTION TO SPECIES EFFECTS ........................................................................... 23 Assumptions ............................................................................................................................ 23 Northwest Forest Plan........................................................................................................... 24 Elk Forage Habitat Land and Washington State Forest Practices Rules .............................. 25 Decision-making as Part of the Settlement Agreement ........................................................ 25 Organization of this Section................................................................................................... 26 BALD EAGLE ............................................................................................................................ 26 STATUS OF THE SPECIES: Bald Eagle – Pacific Population.............................................. 26 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE—Bald Eagle (in the action area)........................................... 30 EFFECTS OF THE ACTION—Bald Eagle ................................................................................. 32 Project Facilities, Operations, and Flood Control ............................................................... 32 Aquatics ................................................................................................................................... 34 Shoreline Erosion.................................................................................................................. 34 Fish Propagation ................................................................................................................... 35 Upstream Fish Passage and Connectivity between Reservoirs............................................. 36 Downstream Fish Passage..................................................................................................... 37 Recreation................................................................................................................................ 39 Aesthetics Management Plan................................................................................................ 39 Lower Baker Developed Recreation..................................................................................... 40 Upper Baker Visitor Information Services ........................................................................... 41 Managing Dispersed Campsites............................................................................................ 41 Upper Baker Trail and Trailhead Construction .................................................................... 42 Developed Recreational Monitoring..................................................................................... 43 USFS Road Maintenance and Paving................................................................................... 44 Potential Effects from Increased Recreational Use .............................................................. 44 Terrestrial................................................................................................................................ 48 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS – Bald Eagle .................................................................................. 50 CONCLUSION – Bald Eagle ....................................................................................................... 51 Conservation Measures .......................................................................................................... 53 BULL TROUT ...........................................................................................................................