ORMAT Technologies Inc. Tungsten Mountain Solar Project Churchill
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ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 2018 WILDLIFE AND VEGETATION SUPPLEMENTAL TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN SOLAR PROJECT BASELINE SURVEY AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT ORMAT Technologies Inc. Tungsten Mountain Solar Project Churchill County, Nevada 2018 Supplemental Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment June 28, 2018 1 2018 Tungten Solar Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment_Clean ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 2018 WILDLIFE AND VEGETATION SUPPLEMENTAL TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN SOLAR PROJECT BASELINE SURVEY AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT ORMAT Technologies Inc. Tungsten Mountain Solar Project Churchill County, Nevada 2018 Supplemental Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment June 28, 2018 Prepared for ORMAT Technologies, Inc. 6225 Neil Rd, Reno, NV 89511 Submitted to Bureau of Land Management Stillwater Field Office 5665 Morgan Mill Road Carson City, NV 89701 Fax: 775-885-6147 Phone: 775-885-6000 Prepared by Robison Wildlife Consulting, LLC 5890 Mitra Way Reno, Nevada 89523 Phone: (775) 225-5548 2 2018 Tungten Solar Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment_Clean ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 2018 WILDLIFE AND VEGETATION SUPPLEMENTAL TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN SOLAR PROJECT BASELINE SURVEY AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT 2018 Supplemental Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment June 28, 2018 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 Purpose of the Desktop Habitat Assessment .................................................................... 5 1.2 Environmental Setting ........................................................................................................ 5 2 Desktop Survey Analysis ........................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Data Review ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Desktop Habitat Assessment for the BSA ......................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Sensitive Plant Species.................................................................................................. 7 2.2.2 Sensitive Wildlife Species ............................................................................................. 7 2.3 Pre-Field Habitat Assessment for the SBSA ..................................................................... 7 2.3.1 Sensitive Plant Species.................................................................................................. 7 2.3.2 Sensitive Wildlife Species ............................................................................................. 8 3 Survey Protocols......................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Vegetation Community Mapping ...................................................................................... 8 3.2 Noxious Weed Surveys ........................................................................................................ 8 3.3 Special Status Plant Surveys .............................................................................................. 9 3.4 Wildlife Surveys................................................................................................................... 9 3.5 Migratory Bird Surveys ...................................................................................................... 9 3.6 Western Burrowing Owl Surveys ...................................................................................... 9 4 Survey Results ......................................................................................................................... 10 4.1 Vegetation Community Mapping .................................................................................... 10 4.1.1 Intermountain Basins Greasewood Flat ................................................................... 10 4.2 Noxious Weed Survey ....................................................................................................... 11 4.3 Special Status Plant Surveys ............................................................................................ 11 4.4 Wildlife Survey .................................................................................................................. 11 3 2018 Tungten Solar Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment_Clean ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 2018 WILDLIFE AND VEGETATION SUPPLEMENTAL TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN SOLAR PROJECT BASELINE SURVEY AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT 4.4.1 Ungulates ..................................................................................................................... 12 4.4.2 Greater Sage-Grouse .................................................................................................. 12 4.4.3 Reptiles ........................................................................................................................ 12 4.5 Migratory Bird Surveys .................................................................................................... 12 4.6 Western Burrowing Owl Survey ...................................................................................... 13 5 Summary and Conclusions .................................................................................................. 13 6 References ................................................................................................................................ 14 Appendices Appendix A: Figures Appendix B: 2017 Bureau of Land Management Nevada Sensitive Species List for the Carson City District Appendix C: Custom Soil Resource Report for Churchill County Area, Nevada Appendix D: Noxious Weed List 4 2018 Tungten Solar Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment_Clean ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 2018 WILDLIFE AND VEGETATION SUPPLEMENTAL TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN SOLAR PROJECT BASELINE SURVEY AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT 1 Introduction Robison Wildlife Consulting, LLC (RWC) was retained by Ormat Technologies Inc. (Ormat) to complete a supplemental baseline biological survey for wildlife and vegetation for 10.5 acres as well as a desktop habitat assessment (DHA) for the entire 130 acres of the solar project (Biological Survey Area [BSA]), necessary to document biological conditions for the Tungsten Mountain Solar Project (Project) located in Churchill County, Nevada. The Project is located in Sections 22, 23, 26, and 27, Township 21 North, Range 38 East (T21N, R38E), Mount Diablo Base and Meridian. The Supplemental Biological Survey Area (SBSA), covers approximately 10.5 acres of public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District, Stillwater Field Office (BLM). The Project can be accessed from the town of Fallon, Nevada by traveling East on United States (U.S.) Highway 50 for approximately 60 miles from the junction of Highway 50 and SR 116, then turning North onto Alpine Road and continuing for approximately 17.2 miles. The location, access, and land status of the BSA is shown in Figure 1. All figures are located in Appendix A. Appendix B contains the updated 2017 BLM Sensitive Species list. Appendix C contains the Custom Soil Report for the Project area Located in Churchill County, NV. Appendix D contains the Noxious Weed List for the State of Nevada. 1.1 Purpose of the Desktop Habitat Assessment The purpose of this desktop habitat assessment is to supplement baseline biological information previously collected and used in support of planning, by identifying sensitive resources for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis. The DHA looked specifically at new BLM sensitive species that may have potential to occur within the entire 130 acre BSA and the specific ecological site description of the BSA. Information gathered for the DHA was used in conducting the field surveys of the SBSA. The 2014 Baseline Biological Survey Report prepared by Stantec Inc. provides all of the data on prior listed sensitive species found in the BSA. 1.2 Environmental Setting The Project is located on the northwestern side of the Edwards Creek Valley, which hosts a large lake bed, or playa. The valley has a northeast-southwest orientation and is bordered by the Clan Alpine Mountains on the northwest, the Desatoya Mountains to the southeast, and the New Pass Mountains to the east. The Project is located in the foothills of the Clan Alpine Mountains, on the fan piedmont, below the old Tungsten Mountain mining district, and above the playa surface, at elevations ranging from approximately 5,150 feet to 5,220 feet above mean sea level. The Project is located approximately 36 miles west of the town of Austin, NV (see Figure 1). Climate in the BSA is semi-arid. Climate data from Middlegate (29 aerial miles west of the Project) indicates that 5 2018 Tungten Solar Baseline Wildlife and Vegetation Survey and Habitat Assessment_Clean ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 2018 WILDLIFE AND VEGETATION SUPPLEMENTAL TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN SOLAR PROJECT BASELINE SURVEY AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT the average annual precipitation is 5.6 inches, with average temperatures ranging from 16.2 degrees Fahrenheit (˚F) in January to 92.0 ˚F in July (WRCC 2018). The BSA is located within the Intermountain Region, Great Basin Division floristic zone (Cronquist et al. 1972). According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) data, the dominant soil type (99.7%)