Biological Assessment of a Proposed Vegetation Management Program to Benefit Tribes in Eastern Oklahoma
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Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Assessment of a Proposed Vegetation Management Program to Benefit Tribes in Eastern Oklahoma Open-File Report 2020–1013 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Forest management practices (fuels management, prescribed fire, and control of eastern redcedar) in the Eastern Oklahoma Region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Photographs courtesy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, used with permission. Biological Assessment of a Proposed Vegetation Management Program to Benefit Tribes in Eastern Oklahoma By Benjamin R. Harms, Heidi L. Bencin, and Natasha B. Carr Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Open-File Report 2020–1013 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DAVID L. BERNHARDT, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2020 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Harms, B.R., Bencin, H.L., and Carr, N.B., 2020, Biological assessment of a proposed vegetation management program to benefit Tribes in eastern Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2020–1013, 49 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201013. Associated data for this publication: Bencin, H.L., Harms, B.R., and Carr, N.B., 2020, Estimated habitat suitability for the American burying beetle using land cover classes in the Southern Plains (ver. 1.1, June 2020): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P95LDGHX. ISSN 2331-1258 (online) iii Acknowledgments The impetus and oversight for this biological assessment was provided by Eric Neal, Hollie Neighbors, Forrest Blackbear, Mosby Halterman, and Joshua Williams of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Laurence Levesque, Brian Fuller, and Anita Barstow of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided consultation on the biological assessment. We greatly appreciate the reviews provided by Patrick Anderson, Brian Cade, Paul Cryan, Erin Muths, and Ian Pearse of the U.S. Geological Survey, and Geoffrey Braga of the Oklahoma Forestry Services. iv Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Proposed Treatments ....................................................................................................................................6 Primary Treatments ..............................................................................................................................6 Prescribed Fire .............................................................................................................................6 Timber Removal ............................................................................................................................6 Management of Species Composition and Density ...............................................................7 Secondary Treatments .........................................................................................................................7 Restoration Activities ...........................................................................................................................7 Ecological Setting ..........................................................................................................................................7 General Ecological Benefits of Proposed Treatments .............................................................................9 Effects Analysis for Federally Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species .............................9 No Anticipated Effects .......................................................................................................................12 Aquatic Plant—Harperella .......................................................................................................13 Freshwater Mussels ..................................................................................................................13 Neosho Mucket .................................................................................................................13 Ouachita Rock Pocketbook .............................................................................................13 Rabbitsfoot .........................................................................................................................14 Scaleshell Mussel ............................................................................................................14 Winged Mapleleaf ............................................................................................................14 Freshwater Fishes......................................................................................................................14 Arkansas River Shiner .....................................................................................................14 Leopard Darter ..................................................................................................................15 Neosho Madtom ...............................................................................................................15 Ozark Cavefish ...................................................................................................................15 Aquatic Reptile—American Alligator .....................................................................................15 Aquatic Birds ..............................................................................................................................15 Interior Least Tern .............................................................................................................16 Piping Plover ......................................................................................................................16 Red Knot .............................................................................................................................16 Whooping Crane ...............................................................................................................16 Unlikely to Adversely Affect ..............................................................................................................16 Insect—Rattlesnake Master Borer ........................................................................................17 Forest-Dwelling Bird—Red-Cockaded Woodpecker ..........................................................17 Bats ..............................................................................................................................................17 Gray Bat ..............................................................................................................................18 Indiana Bat .........................................................................................................................18 Northern Long-Eared Bat ................................................................................................18 Ozark Big-Eared Bat .........................................................................................................18 Avoidance and Minimization Measures and Best Management Practices for Bats ..................................................................................................................19 Likely to Adversely Affect—American Burying Beetle ................................................................20 Status and Threats ....................................................................................................................20 v Overview of American Burying Beetle Life History .............................................................23 Effects of the Action ..................................................................................................................25 Time Period of Effects ......................................................................................................25 Adverse Effects .................................................................................................................25 Soils ............................................................................................................................25 Forest Understory ....................................................................................................25 Forest Canopy ...........................................................................................................26