Environmental Assessment for Disposal of a Portion of the Mcfarland Ranch Unit, Beaver County, Oklahoma

Environmental Assessment for Disposal of a Portion of the McFarland Ranch Unit, Beaver County, Oklahoma 27 November 2018 Table of Contents 1 Introduction and Need for Action 2 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Background 2 1.3 Purpose and Need for Action 5 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES 7 2.1 No Action Alternative 7 2.2 Proposed Action Alternative 7 3.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 8 3.1 Water Resources, Including Floodplains 9 3.2 Vegetation 11 3.3 Wildlife and Species of Greatest Conservation Need 15 3.4 Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species 18 3.5 Cultural and Historic Resources 20 3.6 Land Use 21 3.7 Local Socioeconomic Factors 22 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES 22 4.1 Water Resources, Including Floodplains 22 4.2 Vegetation 23 4.3 Wildlife and Species of Greatest Conservation Need 23 4.4 Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species 26 4.5 Cultural and Historic Resources 28 4.6 Land Use 288 4.7 Local Socioeconomic Factors 29 5.0 Public Comments 29 6.0 List of Preparers 29 7.0 References Cited 31 Appendix A: Quit Claim Deed and Federal Property Proposed for Transfer 33 Appendix B: Agreement Documents for Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 35 1 1 Introduction and Need for Action 1.1 Introduction The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), has prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to assess the potential effects to physical, biological, and cultural resources and socioeconomic conditions which may result from the disposal of a 623.58-acre portion of the Beaver River Wildlife Management Area (BRWMA), Beaver County, Oklahoma. This parcel of land does not meet the habitat needs of the species for which the larger parcel (McFarland Ranch) was purchased. This EA will be used by the USFWS to determine if the disposal of a portion of the BRWMA, as proposed, will be undertaken or if further analyses and/or additional mitigation measures are required. Funds for the Proposed Action and the original purchase of the proposed disposal parcel have been provided through the State Wildlife Grants program administered by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Program, a division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The State Wildlife Grants program provides funds to the state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies for projects to restore, conserve, manage, and enhance sport fish, wild birds, mammals, species of greatest conservation need and their habitats. With the use of Federal funds, the Proposed Action is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations 155, et seq.) and U.S. Department of the Interior NEPA procedures. This EA also incorporates other federal, state, and local environmental policies and regulations. 1.2 Background The Beaver River Wildlife Management Area was created through an initial acquisition of 15,542.49 acres in the late 1980s. In 2010, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation had an opportunity to expand the BRWMA with a 5,733.81 acre purchase known in the area as the McFarland Ranch. Before the acquisition, the McFarland Ranch was owned and managed by the McFarland family for over a century and was used primarily for cattle grazing and recreation. The ranch was known to support lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) habitat and at least one prairie chicken lek. When the McFarland family approached ODWC to express interest in selling the property, agency staff conducted a site inspection to confirm the potential acquisition area contained suitable habitat for various species of greatest conservation need. Once the inspection was completed and a purchase price was negotiated, ODWC completed the necessary steps to acquire fee-simple title of the McFarland Ranch using a combination of WSFR program funding and non-federal State funds (Figure 1). Once acquired, the property became the McFarland Ranch Unit of the BRWMA and has since been managed to provide high- quality native habitat and, in keeping with the primary purpose of the original Beaver River WMA acquisition (public hunting), incidental hunting (during times and in a manner that does not interfere with SGCN conservation) is allowed on the McFarland Unit. Due to safety 2 concerns, there is an area of approximately 1,070 acres on the east end of the McFarland Unit that lies in close proximity to Beaver Dunes State Park, several residences, and State Highway 270, where hunting is restricted to archery and shotgun with pellets (no slugs). Additionally, there is a safety zone along the south boundary of the restricted zone (in very close proximity to the Town of Beaver) where no hunting is allowed. One of the ODWC’s highest conservation priorities in northwestern Oklahoma is the lesser prairie-chicken, a species of grouse that occurs in grassland and shrubland habitats in portions of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Since 1997, ODWC has engaged in several multi-state conservation efforts focused on the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat, in an effort to stabilize what appears to be a declining population trend. The McFarland Ranch acquisition was a unique opportunity to conserve additional habitat for this species at a location known to support a local population. Since the McFarland Ranch acquisition, ODWC has managed the tract for the benefit of both game and nongame species identified as species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) within the Oklahoma Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (OCWCS). The OCWCS is a statewide plan created to provide guidance for the proactive conservation of Oklahoma’s rare and declining species and their associated habitats (i.e., Conservation Landscapes). The SGCN identified within the OCWCS are those determined to be rare, uncommon, or declining, or whose long-term persistence is in question or in jeopardy. Using six selection criteria, SGCN species are classified into three tiers, with the highest conservation priority assigned to Tier 1 species. In addition to identifying at-risk species, the OCWCS created a strategy focused on the steps needed to protect, restore, and enhance conservation landscapes which may be at risk from various anthropogenic activities. The OCWCS identifies habitat loss and fragmentation as important conservation issues. Purchasing lands with the primary purpose of management for SGCN allows ODWC to protect and maintain important conservation landscapes. Within the OCWCS, the state of Oklahoma is divided into six large regions to assist with setting regional priorities for SGCN. The McFarland Ranch, as well as the entire BRWMA, lies within the Shortgrass Prairie Region, which encompasses the panhandle counties (Cimarron, Texas, Beaver) as well as portions of Harper, Woodward and Ellis counties. The Shortgrass Prairie Region of the OCWCS corresponds to the High Plains Ecoregion in the Omernick (Environmental Protection Agency) Level III Ecoregion Classification System (Omernik and Griffith 2014). The OCWCS identifies seven important vegetation communities (i.e., habitat types) within the Shortgrass Prairie Region, five of which occur on the McFarland Ranch: Shortgrass Prairie, Mixed-grass Prairie, Sand Sagebrush / Little Bluestem Shrublands, Riparian Woodland, and Sand Plum / Skunk Brush Shrubland. Based upon the existing habitat, the McFarland Ranch was known to support or likely to support 8 Tier I and 15 Tier II species of greatest conservation need. The Tier I SGCN identified in the acquisition grant were lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii), Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni), long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus), Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), and black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus). The Tier II SGCN identified were Cassin’s sparrow (Aimophila cassinii), chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), McCown’s 3 longspur (Calcarius mccownii), ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis), Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii), painted bunting (Passerina ciris), upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), Bullock’s oriole (Icterus bullockii), Harris’s sparrow (Zonotrichia querula), red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), lesser earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata), long- nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei), western massasauga (Sistrurus tergeminus), desert shrew (Notiosorex crawfordi), and Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). At the time of the McFarland Ranch’s acquisition, the eight Tier I SGCN listed above were the highest regional priority species and the ones anticipated to benefit the most from the ranch’s acquisition. Since acquisition, periodic field surveys (both formal and informal) have been conducted to assess wildlife populations, including SGCN, on Beaver River WMA. At the present time, the McFarland Ranch Unit of the BRWMA continues to support a population of lesser prairie-chickens, and these birds seem to primarily use the sand sagebrush shrublands and mixed-grass prairie habitats. Texas horned lizards appear to be common across all of the upland habitats on the ranch and particularly in the sand sagebrush, mixed-grass prairie and shortgrass prairie habitats. Two colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs occur on the ranch unit in the sand sagebrush shrubland habitat and both of these colonies harbor nesting pairs of burrowing owls during the summer months.

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