STATE OF MAINE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION 159 HOSPITAL STREET 93 STATE HOUSE STATION AUGUSTA, MAINE 04333-0093

ANGUS S. KING, JR. RONALD B. LOVAGLIO

GOVERNOR ~ T UJMMIbilUNkR (DJ E © d 0 W g JUN 19 1998 1 June 17, 1998 TETRA T£CH NUS INC 0 VVILMiNGrON . MA 01887-1020 Kevin O'Neill Brown & Root 55 Jonspin Road Wilmington, MA 01887-1020

Re: Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species Information Request for the McKin Site in Gray, Maine

Dear Mr. O'Neill:

Thank you for contacting the Maine Natural Areas Program. We are always eager to work with organizations conducting environmental assessments. I have searched the Natural Areas Program's Biological and Conservation Data System files in response to your request of June 16, 1998 for information on the presence of rare or unique botanical features documented from the vicinity of the McKin site in the town of Gray, Maine. Rare and unique botanical features include the habitat of rare, threatened, or endangered species and unique or exemplary natural communities. Our review involves examining maps, manual and computerized records, other sources of information such as scientific articles or published references, and the personal knowledge of staff or cooperating experts. Our official response covers only botanical features. For authoritative information and official response for zoological features you must make a similar request to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333. .-** According to the information currently in our Biological and Conservation Data System files, there are no rare botanical features documented specifically within the project area. This finding is available and appropriate for preparation and review of environmental assessments, but it is not a substitute for on-site surveys. Comprehensive field surveys do not exist for all natural areas in Maine, and in the absence of a specific field investigation, the Maine Natural Areas Program cannot provide a definitive statement on the presence or absence of unusual natural features in this site.

NATURAL RESOURCES INFORMATION AND MAPPING CENTER PHONE: (207) 287-8044 ROBERT G. MARVINNEY, DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST FAX: (207) 287-8040

N RFC YC1.EMPMT-R TTY: (207) 287-2213 During your field work, please consider the enclosed supplemental information regarding rare and exemplary botanical features documented to occur in the town of New Gloucester - the closest town in which we have documented occurrences. A sheet is enclosed to explain how these species and communities have been ranked according to their rarity. These features may occur in the project area if suitable habitat exists and should be considered during a survey. I have also enclosed a fact sheet for Cvpripedium arietinum as a reference. Our staff will be conducting a field study this summer of a wetland site in New Gloucester, after which we will have a more complete listing of wetland that may occur in the area. You may contact us again for an update. The Natural Areas Program is continuously working to achieve a more comprehensive database of exemplary natural features in Maine. We welcome the contribution of any information obtained during your field work. Please contact us again if you would like suggestions information on how to minimize impacts on species or communities found on your site. If you intend to publish data that we have provided in any form, we ask that you inform us at the outset and credit us as the source. The Natural Areas Program has instituted a fee structure of $75.00 an hour to recover the actual cost of processing your request for information. You will receive an invoice for $75.00 for our services. Thank you again for using the Natural Areas Program in the environmental review process. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions about the Natural Areas Program or about rare or unique botanical features on this site.

Sincerely,

Deborah Gross Conservation Specialist

.-«•* Enclosures PAGE RARE PLANTS AND NATURAL COMMUNITIES DOCUMENTED FROM NEW GLOUCESTER

SCIENTIFIC NAME ...... COMMON NAME ...... G-RANK S-RANK S-STAT FED-STAT HABITAT ......

~UREOLARIA PEDICULARIA FERN-LEAVED FALSE FOXGLOVE GS S2 Dry deciduous woods and ~earings '~ '

::ASTANEA DENTATA AMERICAN CHESTNUT G4 S2S3 Dry gravelly or rocky, mostly acidic soil

::YPRIPEDit.IM ARIETINIJM RAM'S-HEAD LADY'S-SLIPPER G3 Sl T Damp or mossy woods or bogs

?ERCHED HEMLOCK-!{ARDWOOD SWAMP PERCHED HEMLOCK-HARDWOOD SWAMP S2 Relatively small swamps in catch basins or sloping saddles among low hills of the coastal plain of extreme southern Maine. Peat accumulation minimal, but living may occur.

tMATION DATED 17 JtJN 1998 IK EXPLANATION SHEET IS ENCLOSED MAINE NATURAL AREAS PROGRAM

STATE RANKS (S-RANK)

51 Critically imperiled in Maine because of extreme rarity (five or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals or acres) or because some aspect of its biology makes it especially vulnerable to extirpation from the State of Maine. 52 Imperiled in Maine because of rarity (6-20 occurrences or few remaining individuals or acres) or because of other factors making it vulnerable to further decline. 53 Rare in Maine (on the order of 20-100 occurrences). 54 Apparently secure in Maine. 55 Demonstrably secure in Maine. SA Accidental in Maine, including species that only sporadically breed in Maine. SE An exotic species established in Maine; may be native elsewhere in North America. SH Occurred historically in Maine, and could be rediscovered; not known to have been extirpated. SU Possibly in peril in Maine, but status uncertain; need more information. SX Apparently extirpated in Maine (historically occurring species for which habitat no longer exists in Maine). S? Probably rare or historic in Maine, based on status elsewhere in New England, but not yet reviewed or documented by the Maine Natural Areas Program.

Note: "S-RANKS" determined by the Maine Natural Areas Program. "G-RANKS" indicate global ranks as determined by The Nature Conservancy, and follow the criteria listed above for state ranks. For example, "G1" means 1-5 occurrences and critically imperiled throughout its entire range.

MAINE STATUS: PLANTS

NOTE: This column reflects State-listed status according to 5 M.R.S.A. § 13076-13079, which mandates the Department of Conservation to produce and biennially update the official list of Maine's endangered and threatened plants. The list is derived by a technical advisory committee of botanists who use data in the Natural Areas Program's database to recommend status changes to the Department of Conservation. The current official list is based on 1988 data, and bears a printing date of May 1990.

E ENDANGERED SPECIES; represented in Maine by one recent (within the last twenty years) documented occurrence, or federally listed as Endangered (but see exceptions below).

T THREATENED SPECIES; represented in Maine by two to four recent documented occurrences, or federally listed as Threatened (but see exceptions below).

Exceptions to the numerical criteria for these categories are small population sizes, confined to a .small geographic area in Maine, and the taxon is clearly and imminently jeopardized. ~*

FEDERAL STATUS .,

LE Listed as Endangered at the national level.

LT Listed as Threatened at the national level.

Please note that species names follow the 1995 Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Maine, 3rd revision, Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, University of Maine, Bulletin 844.

Where entries appear as binomials, all representatives (subspecies and varieties) of the species are rare in Maine; where names appear as trinomials, only that particular variety or subspecies is rare in Maine, not the species as a whole. .... DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION • Rare Plant Fact Sheet Maine Natural Areas Program PMORCOQ020

The Maine Natural Areas Program, within the Department of Conservation, is the most comprehensive source of information on Maine's rare or endangered plants, exemplary natural communities, and other features. For more information, including further details on this species, please contact the Maine Natural Areas Program, State House Station 93, Augusta, Maine, 04333; telephone (207) 287-8044.

Cypripedium arietinum Ait. f.

Ram's-head Lady1s-slipper

Family:

Habitat: Damp or mossy woods or bogs

Range: Southeastern Canada south to New England and west to .

Phenology: Flowers in late May to early June.

Aids to Identification: arietinum is the smallest and rarest lady slipper growing Illustration from Britton &Brown's Illustrated Flora of in Maine. Ram's-head lady's-slipper is unique the Northern United States and Canada, 2nd ed. from other lady's slippers by having three separate sepals rather than two. A single flower tops the leafy stalk. The lower lip is whitish strongly veined with red, and is reduced downward to a blunt point; viewed from the side this resembles a ram's head.

Ecological characteristics: Ram's-head lady's-slippers are typically found very .: · locally in mixed woods or open stands of arbor vitae, growing in moist, sandy or loose soil sites in well drained situations in partial shade, at relatively low elevations. It can be found with various native plants in different locations including star flower (Trientalis borea/is), twin-flower (Linnaea borealis), bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia), bunch-berry (Comus canadensis), ferns, and occasionally in cedar bogs with pitcher plant (Saracenia purpurea) and various shrubby heaths. PMORCUUUZU

RARITY OFCypripedium arietinum f , » « State Rank: S1 Critically imperiled in Maine because of extreme rarity or vulnerability to extirpation. Global Rank: G3 Rare or uncommon globally.

LEGAL STATUS OF Cypripedium arietinum

State Status: Threatened Represented in Maine by two to four recent (within the last twenty years) documented occurrences, or federally listed as Threatened (some exceptions apply). Federal Status: None No Federal Legal Status.

Known Distribution in Maine: This species has been documented from a total of 15 town(s) in the following county(ies): Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Hancock, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Somerset, York.

Dates of documented observations are: 1873, 1886, 1896, 1904, 1935, 1945, 1952, 1962, 1976, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996

A Historical (before 1976) • Recent (1976 - present)

Reason(s) for rarity: Rare and declining throughout its range perhaps due to loss of habitat through succession, development, or in some cases indiscriminate timbering. Occurs (and is rare) in all New England states except Rhode Island.

Additional comments: Some historic sites may have been extirpated. •-«

The information in this fact sheet was downloaded from the Maine Natural Areas Program's Biological and Conservation Database on 24 JAN 1997. Comprehensive data on rare plant occurrences are maintained through the MNAP's data management system, which is part of the nationwide Association for Biodiversity Information.

IF YOU KNOW OF LOCATIONS FOR THIS PLANT, PLEASE CONTACT THE NATURAL AREAS PROGRAM.