Assessment of Potential Biological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on the Replogle Property, Watauga County, NC

Christopher R. Wilson Consulting Biologist 196 Annette Hollow Road, Vilas, NC 28692 828.963.4110 [email protected]

11 August 2004

1 Assessment of Potential Biological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on the Replogle Property, Watauga County, NC

The 197ac Replogle property lies approximately 7 miles northwest of Boone, in Watauga County, North Carolina (Map 1). Elevations range from to ~ 4040 – 5190ft. Steep northwest facing slopes occupy the majority of the tract. A small area in the southeast corner of the tract contains a milder southeast facing slope. The property also contains a 0.3 mile long section of ridgeline, running SW-NE from Potato (or “Tater”) Hill to Rich Mountain Bald (Map 2). This ridgeline contains a dirt road running its length and was the focus of this study (Map 3).

NC Natural Heritage Records Review The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (NCNHP) is a State agency responsible for tracking the rarity and locations of species and natural communities of conservation concern (“Elements”), as well as high quality natural areas. The locations of Heritage Elements and Natural Areas are maintained in a GIS database by NCNHP. A review of the NCNHP GIS database and “An Inventory of the Significant Natural Areas of Watauga County, North Carolina” by Shawn Oakley (July 2000, NCNHP) was the first step in the consideration of impacts to biodiversity from wind energy development on the Replogle property.

The Replogle tract lies within the Amphibolite Mountain Macrosite, an area stretching from Rich Mountain (just north of Boone) to the Watauga – Ashe County line at Long Hope Valley (Map 4). This macrosite is ranked as “Nationally Significant”, the highest priority rank available, due to its concentration and quality of Significant Natural Heritage Areas, extraordinary degree of landscape connectivity, concentration of rare plant and animal species, and the fact that this area is the most important in the state for northern disjunct and Southern Appalachian endemic species. Much of the biological significance of this area is due to the combination high elevations and the abundance of Amphibolite and hornblende gneiss, rock types that produce circumneutral (or rich) soils. Rich soils encourage higher plant diversity relative to more acidic soils and are generally rare in the NC Mountains. Thus, mountain plants and natural communities requiring circumneutral soils tend to be rare, or more restricted in their distribution.

A review of the NCNHP GIS database produced no rare species records within the Replogle property itself; however there are many records from the neighboring parcels. The entirety of the Replogle tract lies within the Potato Hill / Rich Mountain Bald Significant Natural Heritage Area which is ranked as State Significant due to a large cluster of rare plant species within a matrix of high quality natural communities. A list of Heritage element observation records from within 1 mile of the Replogle property is provided in Table 1 below. Perhaps the most significant feature in the vicinity of the Replogle property is a High Elevation Rocky Summit immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of the property. This feature contains a number of rare and endangered plants, including the Federally listed Spreading Avens (Geum radiatum) and the Roan Mountain Bluet (Houstonia montana). Other notable features include a Grassy Bald, outside of, and adjacent to the northeastern boundary of the property which also contains a number of rare plants including the State Endangered Schweinitz’s Ragwort

2 (Packera schweinitziana) and Tall Larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum). Rare animal records in the vicinity include the State Rare Golden-winged Warbler (Vermova chrysoptera), New England (or Appalachian) Cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), Warbling Verio (Verio gilvus), Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus), and the State Threatened Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus).

3 TABLE 1. NCNHP ELEMENTS IN PROXIMITY TO THE REPLOGLE PROPERTY STANDARD COMMON STATE FEDERAL STATE GLOBAL NAME NAME STATUS STATUS RANK RANK HIGH ELEVATION SEEP S2S3 G3 HIGH ELEVATION RED OAK FOREST S5 G5 NORTHERN HARDWOOD FOREST (TYPIC SUBTYPE) S4 G5 NORTHERN HARDWOOD FOREST (BEECH GAP SUBTYPE) S2? G2? BOULDERFIELD FOREST S3 G3 HIGH ELEVATION ROCKY SUMMIT S2 G2 AEGOLIUS ACADICUS POP 1 SAW-WHET OWL T FSC S2B,S2N G5T? VIREO GILVUS WARBLING VIREO SR S2B,SZN G5 VERMIVORA CHRYSOPTERA GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER SR S3B,SZN G4 POOECETES GRAMINEUS VESPER SPARROW SR S2B,S2N G5 SYLVILAGUS TRANSITIONALIS NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL SR FSC S3 G4 RHYTIDIUM RUGOSUM GOLDEN TUNDRA-MOSS SR-P S2 G5 SENECIO SCHWEINITZIANUS SCHWEINITZ'S RAGWORT E S2 G5? CARDAMINE CLEMATITIS MOUNTAIN BITTERCRESS SR-T FSC S2 G2G3 DICENTRA EXIMIA BLEEDING HEART SR-P S2 G4 MEEHANIA CORDATA MEEHANIA SR-P S2 G5 DELPHINIUM EXALTATUM TALL LARKSPUR E-SC FSC S1 G3 GEUM GENICULATUM BENT AVENS T FSC S2 G2 GEUM RADIATUM SPREADING AVENS E-SC E S1 G1 HOUSTONIA MONTANA ROAN MOUNTAIN BLUET E E S2 G2 VERONICA AMERICANA AMERICAN SPEEDWELL SR-P S2 G5 CAREX MISERA WRETCHED SEDGE SR-L S3 G3 LILIUM GRAYI GRAY'S LILY T-SC FSC S3 G3 LILIUM PHILADELPHICUM VAR PHILADELPHICUM WOOD LILY SR-P S1 G5T4T5 PLATANTHERA GRANDIFLORA LARGE PURPLE-FRINGED ORCHID SR-P S2 G5 HUPERZIA APPALACHIANA APPALACHIAN FIR-CLUBMOSS SR-P S2 G4G5 For explanations of status and rank codes, refer to http://www.ncsparks.net/nhp/codes.html

4 Field Study A field visit to the Replogle property was made on 5 June 2004 by Lee Echols and myself. The purpose of the visit was to determine the presence of, or potential for, rare species or natural communities which may be impacted by wind energy development. Our searches were confined to the eastern portion of the property and included the ridgeline, the area of primary interest for wind development (Map 3).

The area along the ridgeline contains the Globally Imperiled (G2) Northern Hardwood Forest (Beech Gap subtype). This natural community is characterized by a stunted canopy of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). Common understory species included Yellow Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Thimbleweed (Anemone quinquefolia), Gooseberry (Ribes glandulosum) and Southern Lady Fern (Athyrium felix-feminima ssp. aspleniodes). This community grades into the Globally Imperiled (G2) Northern Hardwood Forest (Typic subtype) further down slope to the east and west.

Numerous large rocky outcrops were observed along the ridge line and slopes. Nearly all of these were well shaded. However, two small examples of the fully exposed, High Elevation Rocky Summit community were observed in the southern end of the property on the west slope, within 50ft of the ridgeline road and within 300ft north of the southern property boundary (see Map 3 and Photos #1 & #2). These features were carefully searched for the presence of rare plants and, although the conditions appeared ideal for Spreading Avens (Geum radiatum), Roan Mountain Bluet (Houstonia montana), Wretched Sedge (Carex misera), and Appalachian Fir Clubmoss (Huperzia appalachiana), no rare plants were observed. Given the rarity of High Elevation Rocky Summit features, their potential for rare plants, and the proximity of these features to those on a neighboring property harboring a large population of rare plant species, impacts to this area should be avoided.

Some of the rare plants known from the vicinity (Table 1) occur in moist seepage type habitats which were not observed in the study area. Other than rocky summit plant species mentioned above, the remaining rare plants with the highest potential to occur in the study area are Meehania (Meehania cordata), Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia), Tall Larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum), Bent Avens (Geum geniculatum), Large Purple-fringed Orchid (Platanthera grandiflora), Wood Lilly (Lilium philadelphicum), and Grays Lilly (Lillium grayi). These species were not observed but may occur within the forested areas or along the edges of openings. Site specific surveys during various seasons are necessary to determine with a reasonable degree of certainty if rare plants occur in the study area, and would thus be impacted by wind energy development.

The study area appears to be ideal habitat for the State Rare Pygmy Salamander (Desmognathus wrighti) and the Special Concern Weller’s Salamander (Plethodon welleri). Surprisingly, the only salamander found in the study area was the common Jordan or Northern Grey-cheeked Salamander (Plethodon montanus). The rocky / boulder areas scattered throughout the study area provide potential habitat for the Special Concern Appalachian Woodrat (Neotoma magister), Long-tail Shrew (Sorex dispar), and Southern Rock Vole (Microtus chrotorrhinus carolinensis). The State Rare Appalachian Cottontail

5 (Sylvilagus obscurus) is known to occur in the vicinity, prefers dense cover and thickets, and may also occur in the study area. Detection of these species requires special techniques, such as trapping, which was beyond the scope of this study. Other than direct impacts due to the footprint of structures and clearings, the potential for impacts to terrestrial mammals or amphibians from wind energy development is relatively minor.

There are no rare bat records in the vicinity, however a number of rare bats may use the area. The most imperiled bat in Avery and Watauga counties is the Federally Endangered Virginia Big-eared Bat (Corynorinus townsendii virginianus). This species roosts in caves or mines, which are not know from the vicinity of the Replogle property. Determining what species of bat utilize the Replogle property would require specialized techniques such as mist-netting or electronic bat detectors, operated during various seasons, which is beyond the scope of this study.

Observed birds included the Black-throated Blue Warbler, Veery, Common Yellow- throat, Canada Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Indigo Bunting, and Dark-eyed Junco. Two NCNHP Watch-list species, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Least Flycatcher, were also observed and likely breed, in the study area. The Rich Mountain Bald to the north and the open meadow area to the south of the property likely attract NCNHP Rare birds such as the Vesper Sparrow and Golden-winged Warbler, which are known to breed in good numbers nearby at Rich Mountain Gap. For this reason, and to avoid the High Elevation Rocky Summits, it would be best to place the wind towers in the center of the ridge-top section of the property.

There have been a number of late winter – early spring observations of calling Saw-whet Owls from Rich Mountain Gap and from Ellison Mountain, in the vicinity of the study area. While this State Threatened and FSC species primarily breeds in Spruce – Fir forests, it is known to over winter at lower elevations. While the Saw-whet Owl may use the study area for over wintering habitat, its presence is probably infrequent.

Although not detected during the field visit, NCNHP Rare bird species’ which may breed in the study area are the Appalachian Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creeper, and Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Potential for Biological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on the Replogle property The Replogle Property lies within a highly significant area for biodiversity in county, state, and nation. A high concentration of rare or endangered plants, animals, and natural communities occur on adjacent properties. Most of the study area under consideration for wind energy development is occupied by the Globally Imperiled Northern Harwood (Beech Gap Sub Type) natural community. This means that any land disturbance activities on the property will have some level of impact to sensitive biological elements. Thus, the foot-print of any structures and clearings should be minimized, and construction of new roads should be avoided. The southern end of the study area contains two small examples of the Globally Imperiled High Elevation Rocky Summit community which are potential habitat for a suite of rare and endangered plant species. Although these rare rocky summit plant species were not observed in the study area, such species are currently present on a neighboring property only 300ft away to the

6 south, implying the likelihood of occurrence, or colonization, is high within the study area. For these reasons, disturbance near the rocky summits in the study area should be avoided (see Map 3 and Photos #1 & #2).

There is a great deal of concern over the impact of wind energy development on birds (see Smalling, 2003. Potential Avian Impacts of Wind Energy Development in Western North Carolina: A Literature Review). Although two NCNHP Watchlist birds were observed in the study area, no NCNHP Rare bird species were detected. However, there is a potential for rare birds to breed, migrate, or over winter in the study area and the site is certainly frequented by various raptors. Without a much more intensive study of the bird fauna at the Replogle property, it is impossible to say with much certainty which species will be impacted, and to what extent, from the long-term presence of wind towers. It is very likely that birds will be killed by the towers. Over a long enough timeframe, kills will likely include state and federally listed species. However I have no reason to believe the site represents a particularly critical breeding, wintering, or migration area for any imperiled bird species.

Recommendations to Minimize Biological Impacts In order to minimize the impact to biodiversity on the Replogle property, wind energy development activities should: • Utilize the existing road along the ridge-line and not create new roads • Minimize the foot print of structures and clearings • Avoid the High Elevation Rocky Summit areas in the southern end of the property • Place wind towers as far as possible from the Grassy Bald to the north and the open meadow area to the south • Incorporate the best available technology to deter bird and bat collisions

It is my understanding that the Replogle wind energy development project is meant to serve as a study of the issues, both good and bad, associated with wind energy development in the NC Mountains. In regards to biodiversity impacts, an important point to consider is that the best sites for wind energy development tend be high elevation ridge-tops (Dennis Scanlin, pers.com.). Besides mountain bogs, High elevation habitats in the Southern Appalachians harbor some of the rarest plants and animals in the Southeast. In addition, many of the natural communities that occur at high elevations are also imperiled, such as Spruce-fir and Northern Hardwood forests, and Grassy Balds. Thus, the potential for biological impacts is relatively high. This underscores the importance of conducting site specific biological reviews of proposed wind energy development areas, and incorporating relevant findings into development plans.

7 MAP 1. LOCALITY MAP

8 MAP 2. SITE MAP

9 MAP 3. STUDY AREA

10 MAP 4.