DOCSLIB.ORG

Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Determinations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Determinations BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT For The FAIRFIELD/VACAVILLE TRAIN STATION PROJECT LOCATION: Solano County, California SE quadrant of Section 9; SW quadrant of Section 10; NE quadrant of Section 16; and NW quadrant of Section 15, Township 5 North and Range 1 East of the Elmira 7.5' USGS Topographic Quadrangle; Contact Person: Dave Feinstein City of Fairfield Public Works Department 1000 Webster Street, 3rd Floor Fairfield, CA 94533 Phone Number: (707) 428-7448 June 9, 2014 Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Determinations This Biological Assessment (BA), prepared in accordance with legal requirements set forth under Section 7 of the Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) (16 U.S.C. 1536 (c)), evaluates the proposed City of Fairfield's Fairfield/Vacaville Train Station Project (Project) to determine the extent of the proposed project's effect(s) on federally listed threatened or endangered species. The Project is anticipated to result in impacts to other waters of the United States under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) jurisdiction, which allows the impacts on federally listed as threatened or endangered species to be addressed through Section 7 of the FESA. Findings The proposed project will have No Effect on soft bird's beak, Suisun thistle, Conservancy fairy shrimp, delta green ground beetle, delta smelt, California tiger salamander, California red- legged frog, giant garter snake, California clapper rail, or salt marsh harvest mouse because they do not occur in the Action Area due either to lack of suitable habitat for these species, or because the project is located outside the known range of the species. The proposed project May Affect, but is Not Likely to Adversely Affect Contra Costa goldfields. While there are records for Contra Costa goldfields in the general vicinity (i.e., within 500 feet of the Action Area), the habitat in the Action Area is unlikely to support this species due to the deeper soils (compared to where this species has been documented to occur) that support dense growth of non-native grasses and forbs that would out compete this species for space. The proposed project is therefore unlikely to adversely affect Contra Costa goldfields. The proposed project May Adversely Affect, but is Not Likely to Jeopardize vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp. Several records for vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp occur in the vicinity of the Action Area. While the suitable habitat in the Action Area is highly disturbed, these species can persist in severely degraded habitats under the right conditions. The features in the Action Area could, therefore, support these species. The Action Area addressed in this BA does not occur within critical habitat for Contra Costa goldfields, soft bird's beak, Suisun thistle, vernal pool fairy shrimp, Conservancy fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, delta green ground beetle, delta smelt, California tiger salamander, or California red-legged frog. Critical habitat has not been designated for giant garter snake, California clapper rail, or salt marsh harvest mouse. Therefore, the project will not result in impacts on critical habitat for any of the species listed above. Fairfield/Vacaville Train Station Project Biological Assessment Conclusions We have conservatively assumed that all of the highly disturbed wetlands that will be lost due to the project will require mitigation for the loss of vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp. The acreage of wetlands lost within the Action Area, considered directly impacted is 0.364 acre. The acreage of wetlands within 250 feet of the Action Area, referred to as indirect impact, is 0.302 acre. Determinations Mitigation for loss of vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp will be accomplished through the purchase of the appropriate number of mitigation credits at a USFWS approved mitigation bank. A summary of impacts, mitigation ratios and mitigation requirements is provided in Table E-1 below. Table E-1 Summary of Potential Vernal Pool Crustacean Habitat Impacts and Mitigation Species/Habitat Impacts Mitigation Proposed Ratios Mitigation Direct Indirect Vernal pool fairy 0.364 0.305 Direct Direct Impacts shrimp Impacts 1.092 acre Vernal pool Preservation Indirect Impacts tadpole = 2:1 Creation shrimp/seasonally = 1:1 0.305 acre inundated Indirect wetlands Impacts Creation = 1:1 The proposed mitigation measures will result in higher quality habitat preserved and created elsewhere within Solano County, ensuring the loss of this habitat is unlikely to jeopardize the existence of vernal pool fairy shrimp or vernal pool tadpole shrimp within the region. S:\Community Development Files\dave\Train Station\FFVV Train Station Biological Assessment 06092014.doc ii Fairfield/Vacaville Train Station Project Biological Assessment TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Determinations ........................................................... i Findings................................................................................................................................... i Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ ii Determinations ....................................................................................................................... ii 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project History............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Project Description ...................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Project Phasing..................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Construction Schedule ......................................................................................... 4 1.2.3 Staging Areas and Access Roads ......................................................................... 4 1.2.4 Construction Procedures ...................................................................................... 5 1.2.5 Post Construction Activities ................................................................................ 5 1.3 Consultation to Date .................................................................................................... 5 2.0 Study Methods ................................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Listed and Proposed Species Potentially in the Biological Study Area ...................... 6 2.1.1 Federally Listed Species Likely to be Adversely Affected by the Project .......... 6 2.1.2 Federally Listed Species that May Be Affected but are Not Likely to be Adversely Affected by the Project ..................................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Federally Listed Species upon which the project will have No Effect ................ 6 2.2 Studies Required ......................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Personnel and Survey Dates ........................................................................................ 6 2.4 Agency Coordination and Professional Contacts ........................................................ 7 2.5 Limitations That May Influence Results ..................................................................... 8 3.0 Results: Environmental Setting....................................................................................... 9 3.1 Existing Land Uses in the Action Area ....................................................................... 9 3.2 Habitat in the Action Area .......................................................................................... 9 3.3 Wetlands and Other Waters of the U.S. in the Action Area ...................................... 10 4.0 Results: Biological Resources, Discussion of Impacts and Mitigation ........................ 15 4.1 Federally Listed/Proposed Plant Species .................................................................. 15 4.1.1 Contra Costa Goldfields ..................................................................................... 15 4.1.2 Suisun Thistle..................................................................................................... 16 4.1.3 Soft Bird's-beak .................................................................................................. 17 4.1.4 San Joaquin Valley Orcutt Grass ....................................................................... 18 4.2 Federally Listed/Proposed Animal Species ............................................................... 19 4.2.1 Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp .................................................................................. 19 4.2.2 Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp ............................................................................. 22 S:\Community Development Files\dave\Train Station\FFVV Train Station Biological Assessment 06092014.doc iii Fairfield/Vacaville Train Station Project Biological Assessment 4.2.3 Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle ................................................................... 24 4.2.4 Delta Green Ground Beetle ................................................................................ 26 4.2.5 Conservancy Fairy Shrimp ...............................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • US Format C V2.1
    APPENDIX G-7 Listed, Proposed Species, and Critical Habitat Potentially Occurring or Known to Occur in the Project Region Listed, Proposed Species, and Critical Habitat Potentially Occurring or Known to Occur in the Project Region. Scientific Name/ Common Federal/State/ General Habitat Description Habitat Rationale Name CNPS/other Present/ Status Absent Invertebrates Adela oplerella --/--/G2G3, S2S3 Opler's longhorn moth is recorded from 18 sites A Suitable habitat for this species is not Opler’s longhorn moth extending along the west side of the San present within the project site. Francisco Bay from 5 miles southeast of Nicasio in Marin County south to the Gilroy area of Santa Clara County and from the Oakland area on the inner Coast Ranges. Habitat for Opler's longhorn moth consists of serpentine grassland (Federal Register 50CFR17). Andrena blennospermatis --/--/G2, S2 Known occurrences in Contra Costa, Lake, A Yellow carpet is absent from the Blennosperma vernal pool Sonoma, Solano, Yolo, Tehamea, Sacramento, project site. Upland habitat adjacent andrenid bee San Joaquin, El Dorado, and Placer Counties. to vernal pools in the area is Habitat consists of upland areas near vernal pools composed of substrate, such as containing yellow carpet (Blennosperma sp.). gravel, compacted soil, or heavily Forages exclusively on flowering yellow carpet. disturbed soil, which does not This species excavates nests in soil in adjacent provide suitable nesting habitat for upland areas (Thorp 2008). this species. Branchinecta conservatio FE/--/-- Conservancy fairy shrimp inhabit rather large, cool- A Suitable habitat for this species does conservancy fairy shrimp water vernal pools with moderately turbid water. It not occur on site.
    [Show full text]
  • Fig. Ap. 2.1. Denton Tending His Fairy Shrimp Collection
    Fig. Ap. 2.1. Denton tending his fairy shrimp collection. 176 Appendix 1 Hatching and Rearing Back in the bowels of this book we noted that However, salts may leach from soils to ultimately if one takes dry soil samples from a pool basin, make the water salty, a situation which commonly preferably at its deepest point, one can then "just turns off hatching. Tap water is usually unsatis- add water and stir". In a day or two nauplii ap- factory, either because it has high TDS, or because pear if their cysts are present. O.K., so they won't it contains chlorine or chloramine, disinfectants always appear, but you get the idea. which may inhibit hatching or kill emerging If your desire is to hatch and rear fairy nauplii. shrimps the hi-tech way, you should get some As you have read time and again in Chapter 5, guidance from Brendonck et al. (1990) and temperature is an important environmental cue for Maeda-Martinez et al. (1995c). If you merely coaxing larvae from their dormant state. You can want to see what an anostracan is like, buy some guess what temperatures might need to be ap- Artemia cysts at the local aquarium shop and fol- proximated given the sample's origin. Try incu- low directions on the container. Should you wish bation at about 3-5°C if it came from the moun- to find out what's in your favorite pool, or gather tains or high desert. If from California grass- together sufficient animals for a study of behavior lands, 10° is a good level at which to start.
    [Show full text]
  • "National List of Vascular Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands: 1996 National Summary."
    Intro 1996 National List of Vascular Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands The Fish and Wildlife Service has prepared a National List of Vascular Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands: 1996 National Summary (1996 National List). The 1996 National List is a draft revision of the National List of Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands: 1988 National Summary (Reed 1988) (1988 National List). The 1996 National List is provided to encourage additional public review and comments on the draft regional wetland indicator assignments. The 1996 National List reflects a significant amount of new information that has become available since 1988 on the wetland affinity of vascular plants. This new information has resulted from the extensive use of the 1988 National List in the field by individuals involved in wetland and other resource inventories, wetland identification and delineation, and wetland research. Interim Regional Interagency Review Panel (Regional Panel) changes in indicator status as well as additions and deletions to the 1988 National List were documented in Regional supplements. The National List was originally developed as an appendix to the Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States (Cowardin et al.1979) to aid in the consistent application of this classification system for wetlands in the field.. The 1996 National List also was developed to aid in determining the presence of hydrophytic vegetation in the Clean Water Act Section 404 wetland regulatory program and in the implementation of the swampbuster provisions of the Food Security Act. While not required by law or regulation, the Fish and Wildlife Service is making the 1996 National List available for review and comment.
    [Show full text]
  • Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta Lynchi)
    Invertebrates Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp (Brachinecta lynchi) Status State: Meets the requirements as a “rare, threatened, or endangered species” under CEQA Federal: Threatened Critical Habitat: Designated 2006 (USFWS 2006) Population Trend Global: Declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation (Eriksen and Belk 1999) State: As above Within Inventory Area: Unknown Data Characterization The location database for the vernal pool fairy shrimp (Brachinecta lynchi) within the inventory area includes 6 records from 1993, 1997, and 1999. The majority of locations are vernal pools within non-native grassland. Other natural and artificial habitats have a high probability of being occupied by additional populations of the vernal pool fairy shrimp throughout the grassland habitats within the ECCC HCP/NCCP inventory area. Beyond the original description (Eng et al. 1990), a scanning electron micrograph of the cyst (resting egg) (Hill and Shepard 1997), and some generalized natural history data (Helm 1997), no peer-reviewed technical literature has been published concerning the vernal pool fairy shrimp. Eriksen and Belk (1999) presented a brief discussion of the vernal pool fairy shrimp and provided a distribution map. Range The vernal pool fairy shrimp is found from Jackson County near Medford, Oregon, throughout the Central Valley, and west to the central Coast Ranges. Isolated southern populations occur on the Santa Rosa Plateau and near Rancho California in Riverside County (Eng et al.1990, Eriksen
    [Show full text]
  • Final Designation of Critical Habitat for Four Vernal Pool Crustaceans and Eleven Vernal Pool Plants in California and Southern Oregon; Final Rule
    Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Part II Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Designation of Critical Habitat for Four Vernal Pool Crustaceans and Eleven Vernal Pool Plants in California and Southern Oregon; Final Rule VerDate jul<14>2003 21:54 Aug 05, 2003 Jkt 200001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\06AUR2.SGM 06AUR2 46684 Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 2003 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: court orders and court-approved settlement agreements, compliance with Preamble Fish and Wildlife Service which now consumes nearly the entire Designation of Critical Habitat Provides listing program budget. This leaves the 50 CFR Part 17 Little Additional Protection to Species Service with little ability to prioritize its activities to direct scarce listing RIN 1018–AI26 In 30 years of implementing the ESA, resources to the listing program actions the Service has found that the with the most biologically urgent Endangered and Threatened Wildlife designation of statutory critical habitat and Plants; Final Designation of species conservation needs. provides little additional protection to The consequence of the critical Critical Habitat for Four Vernal Pool most listed species, while consuming Crustaceans and Eleven Vernal Pool habitat litigation activity is that limited significant amounts of conservation listing funds are used to defend active Plants in California and Southern resources. The Service’s present system Oregon lawsuits and to comply with the for designating critical habitat is driven growing number of adverse court orders.
    [Show full text]
  • Vegetation and Biodiversity Management Plan Pdf
    April 2015 VEGETATION AND BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT PLAN Marin County Parks Marin County Open Space District VEGETATION AND BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT PLAN DRAFT Prepared for: Marin County Parks Marin County Open Space District 3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 260 San Rafael, CA 94903 (415) 473-6387 [email protected] www.marincountyparks.org Prepared by: May & Associates, Inc. Edited by: Gail Slemmer Alternative formats are available upon request TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents GLOSSARY 1. PROJECT INITIATION ...........................................................................................................1-1 The Need for a Plan..................................................................................................................1-1 Overview of the Marin County Open Space District ..............................................................1-1 The Fundamental Challenge Facing Preserve Managers Today ..........................................1-3 Purposes of the Vegetation and Biodiversity Management Plan .....................................1-5 Existing Guidance ....................................................................................................................1-5 Mission and Operation of the Marin County Open Space District .........................................1-5 Governing and Guidance Documents ...................................................................................1-6 Goals for the Vegetation and Biodiversity Management Program ..................................1-8 Summary of the Planning
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    13.0 LITERATURE CIT TABLE OF CONTENTS 13.0 LITERATURE CITED AND PREPARATION STAFF ..................................................... 13-1 13.1 PREPARATION STAFF ............................................................................................ 13-1 13.1.1 Solano County Water Agency ........................................................................ 13-1 13.1.2 Plan Participants ............................................................................................. 13-1 13.1.3 LSA Associates, Inc. ...................................................................................... 13-1 13.2 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................... 13-2 ED AND PREPARATION S TAFF 13-i Oct 2012 This page intentionally left blank ND PREPARATION STAFF ED A 13.0 LITERATURE CIT Oct 2012 13-ii 13.0 LITERATURE CIT 13.0 LITERATURE CITED AND PREPARATION STAFF 13.1 PREPARATION STAFF 13.1.1 Solano County Water Agency General Manager: David Okita Supervising Environmental Scientist: Chris Lee ED AND PREPARATION S 13.1.2 Plan Participants • City of Dixon: ○ David Dowswell, ○ Justin Hardy ○ Rebecca Van Burren • City of Fairfield: Erin Beavers • City of Rio Vista: Tom Bland • City of Suisun City: ○ Gary Cullen TAFF ○ Jake Raper • City of Vacaville: ○ Fred Buderi ○ Scott Sexton • City of Vallejo: Brian Dolan • Dixon Resource Conservation District (Dixon RCD): John Currey • Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District (FSSD): Larry Bahr • Maine Prairie Water District (MPWD): Don Holdener
    [Show full text]
  • Suisun Thistle Cirsium Hydrophilum Var
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office Species Account Suisun Thistle Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum CLASSIFICATION: Endangered Federal Register 62:61916; November 20, 1997 http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr3177.pdf STATE LISTING STATUS AND CNPS CODE: The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range). The California Department of Fish and Game has not listed it. Suisun Thistle CRITICAL HABITAT: DESIGNATED © Roxanne Bittman and CNPS Federal Register 72:18517 TEXT | PDF (1361 KB); April 12, 2007 RECOVERY PLAN: FINAL Draft Recovery Plan for Tidal Marsh Ecosystems of Northern and Central California edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-2279.htm edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-2279.pdf (52 KB) DESCRIPTION Suisun thistle is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae (aster) family. In the pre-flowering phase it grows as a short, broad, vegetative rosette with large leaves, approximately 0.3 to 0.9 meter (1 to 3 feet) long. The leaves have deep lobes with spines up to 1 centimeter (nearly 0.5 inch) long at the tips. The juvenile vegetative phase lasts until plants are large enough to flower. During the mature phase the Suisun Thistle © Roxanne Bittman and CNPS rosette bolts, and develops a 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet) leafy stem in the second year or later. Stems are typically branched above the middle of the main stem, but up to 15 stems may occasionally branch from the base of single large plants. Leaves on stems are much smaller, more deeply lobed, and spinier than juvenile leaves of the rosette.
    [Show full text]
  • Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta Longiantenna)
    Invertebrates Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta longiantenna) Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta longiantenna) Status State: Meets the requirements as a “rare, threatened, or endangered species” under CEQA Federal: Endangered Critical Habitat: Designated 2006 (USFWS 2006) Population Trend Global: Declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation (Eriksen and Belk 1999) State: As above Within Inventory Area: Unknown Data Characterization The location database for the longhorn fairy shrimp (Branchinecta longiantenna) within the inventory area includes 2 records from 1982 and 1990 near the Los Vaqueros Reservoir (Eng et. al. 1990, California Natural Diversity Database 2001). These 2 locations are shallow, sandstone-rock-outcrop vernal pools within non-native grassland. Other natural and artificial habitats have a high probability of being occupied by additional populations of the longhorn fairy shrimp throughout the grassland habitats within the ECCC HCP/NCCP inventory area. In addition to the original description (Eng et. al. 1990), Eriksen and Belk (1999) presented a brief discussion of the longhorn fairy shrimp and provided a distribution map. Hill and Shepard (1997) produced a scanning electron micrograph of the cyst (resting egg), and Helm (1997) provided some generalized natural history data. No other peer-reviewed technical literature has been published concerning the longhorn fairy shrimp. Range Only 8 populations of the longhorn fairy shrimp are known (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1996). Longhorn fairy shrimp occurrences are rare and highly disjunct with specific pool characteristics largely unknown (USFWS 2003). The Altamont pass subunits of the species occur within clear depression pools in sandstone outcrops (Eriksen and Belk 1999; EBRPD 2001; CNDDB 2002). Other populations in the middle and southern range of the species occur in loam and shallow alkaline soil, respectively (USFWS 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Longhorn Fairy Shrimp Research EA
    Longhorn Fairy Shrimp Habitat Research in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties Environmental Assessment U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation March 2017 Mission Statements The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms BPRP Brushy Peak Regional Preserve CCWD Contra Costa Water District CFR Code of Federal Regulations CVP Central Valley Project CVPCP Central Valley Project Conservation Program EBRPD East Bay Regional Park District Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System LARPD Livermore Area Recreation and Park District LFS Longhorn Fairy Shrimp NHPA National Historic Properties Act USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service VCRP Vasco Caves Regional Preserve Contents Page Section 1 Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Need for the Proposal............................................................................ 1 Section 2 Alternatives Including the Proposed
    [Show full text]
  • Conservancy Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta Conservatio)
    2. CONSERVANCY FAIRY SHRIMP (BRANCHINECTA CONSERVATIO) a. Description and Taxonomy Taxonomy.—The Conservancy fairy shrimp (Branchinecta conservatio) was described by Eng, Belk, and Eriksen (Eng et al. 1990). The type specimens were collected in 1982 at Olcott Lake, Solano County, California. The species name was chosen to honor The Nature Conservancy, an organization responsible for protecting and managing a number of vernal pool ecosystems in California, including several that support populations of this species. Description and Identification.—Conservancy fairy shrimp look similar to other fairy shrimp species (Box 1- Appearance and Identification of Vernal Pool Crustaceans). Conservancy fairy shrimp are characterized by the distal segment of the male’s second antennae, which is about 30 percent shorter than the basal segment, and its tip is bent medially about 90 degrees (Eng et al. 1990). The female brood pouch is fusiform (tapered at each end), typically extends to abdominal segment eight, and has a terminal opening (Eng et al. 1990). Males may be from 14 to 27 millimeters (0.6 to 1.1 inch) in length, and females have been measured between 14.5 and 23 millimeters (0.6 and 0.9 inch) long. Conservancy fairy shrimp can be distinguished from the similar looking midvalley fairy shrimp (Branchinecta mesovallensis) by the shape of two humps on the distal segment of the male's second antennae (Belk and Fugate 2000). The midvalley fairy shrimp's antennae is bent such that the larger of the two humps is anterior (towards the head), whereas this same hump in the Conservancy fairy shrimp is posterior (towards the tail).
    [Show full text]
  • 19 BULL THISTLE (SPEAR THISTLE) PEST STATUS of WEED Nature Of
    In: Van Driesche, R., et al., 2002, Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States, USDA Forest Service Publication FHTET-2002-04, 413 p. 19 BULL THISTLE (SPEAR THISTLE) L.-T. Kok1 and A. Gassmann2 1Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0319, USA; 2CABI Bioscience Centre Switzerland, Delémont, Switzerland trast to those of Canada thistle. Leaves are covered PEST STATUS OF WEED with coarse hairs on the upper surface of the leaf Bull thistle, Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Tenore, is an in- blade, and are woolly below. Long spines extend from vasive thistle from Eurasia, found throughout the the leaf blade at the midrib and at each lobe. The leaf United States and in Canada from Newfoundland to bases extend downward on the stem forming long British Columbia. It is capable of invading fields, pas- wings. tures, wastelands and along roadsides, but will not Biology survive in cultivated fields. Bull thistle is a biennial species that reproduces by Nature of Damage seed. The root system consists of several primary Economic damage. Bull thistle occurs in overgrazed roots each with several smaller lateral roots. It does pastures, where heavy infestations can exclude live- not reproduce by vegetative means. Bull thistle is erect stock from infested areas. It also is common along and bushy in appearance, up to 2 m high, and has roadside and vacant fields. many spreading branches (Fig. 1). Stems are erect, Ecological damage. Although bull thistle is a stout, often branched, and hairy. Leaves are green on problem predominantly in disturbed areas, it also can the upper side, with woolly gray hairs on the under- be found in natural areas.
    [Show full text]