Elk Late-Successional Reserve Enhancement Project
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Elk Late-Successional Reserve Enhancement Project Final Biological Assessment and Evaluation for Botanical Species Report Prepared by: /s/ Rhonda Posey Shasta-side Planning Botanist for: Shasta-McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest Date: April 5, 2016 Final Biological Assessment and Evaluation for Botanical Species Report - Elk Late Successional Reserve Enhancement Project – April 5, 2016 Non Discrimination Statement In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). 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Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. Final Biological Assessment and Evaluation for Botanical Species Report - Elk Late Successional Reserve Enhancement Project – April 5, 2016 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Compliance with Forest Plan, and Other Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies and Plans........ 1 Project Location .......................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................................ 1 Alternatives ................................................................................................................................. 1 Alternative 1: Modified Proposed Action – Preferred Alternative .......................................... 2 Alternative 2: No New Temporary Road Construction Other than Those Required for Landing Use/Access ................................................................................................................ 2 Alternative 3: No Treatments of Natural Stands within Designated Critical Habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl.............................................................................................................. 2 Alternative 4: No Action ......................................................................................................... 2 Overview of Issues Addressed .................................................................................................... 3 Botanical Biological Assessment for Listed/Proposed, Threatened and Endangered (including Candidate Species) ...................................................................................................................... 3 Determination of Effects ............................................................................................................. 4 Botanical Biological Evaluation for Sensitive Species ............................................................... 4 Affected Environment ..................................................................................................................... 4 Existing Conditions Related to Sensitive Plants ......................................................................... 4 Desired Condition ....................................................................................................................... 5 Forest Goals ............................................................................................................................. 5 McCloud Flats – Management Area 2 ..................................................................................... 5 Mt. Shasta – Management Area 3 ........................................................................................... 5 Environmental Consequences ......................................................................................................... 6 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 6 Results of Surveys ................................................................................................................... 6 Spatial and Temporal Context for Effects Analysis .................................................................... 6 Effects Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 7 Methodology Used to Analyze and Determine the Extent of Effects to the Resource ............ 7 Regulatory Compliance ........................................................................................................... 7 Effects Relative to Significance Factors .................................................................................. 7 Monitoring Recommendations ................................................................................................ 7 Other Agencies and Individuals Consulted ............................................................................. 7 Determination of Effects ............................................................................................................. 7 References (Literature Cited) ................................................................................................. 8 Appendix 1: Official Species Lists USFWS .......................................................................... 1 Appendix 2 – Sensitive Plant List......................................................................................... 13 Appendix 3 – Plant List .......................................................................................................... 17 List of Tables Table 1: Conifers and Flowering Plants Listed by FWS For the Elk Project Area ......................... 3 Table 2: Sensitive and endemic plants with potential to occur in the Elk project Area .................. 5 Table 3: Sensitive and Endemic Plant species known or potentially occurring on the Shasta National Forest including McCloud, Mt. Shasta and Shasta Lake Range Districts as of July 24, 2013 ................................................................................................................................. 13 Table 4: List of plants known to occur in the Elk Late-Successional Reserve Enhancement Project Assessment Area (names according to Baldwin et al. 2013. ................................................. 17 Shasta-Trinity National Forest Final Biological Assessment and Evaluation for Botanical Species Report - Elk Late Successional Reserve Enhancement Project – April 5, 2016 Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Shasta-McCloud Management Unit Final Biological Assessment and Evaluation for Botanical Species Report - Elk Late Successional Reserve Enhancement Project – April 5, 2016 Introduction This document is a combined BA/BE. Plants found were identified to the degree necessary to determine if they were Threatened, Endangered, or Sensitive species. No plants species listed as Threatened, Endangered or Sensitive were found during surveys. List of acronyms used for this report: BA Biological Assessment BE Biological Evaluation CH Critical Habitat CNDDB California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Natural Diversity Data Base CNPS California Native Plant Society ESA Endangered Species Act FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement FSM Forest Service Manual FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service LMP Shasta-Trinity National Forest Land Resource Management Plan MA Management Area NFS NRIS National Resource Information System S&M Survey & Manage TES Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Compliance with Forest Plan, and Other Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies and Plans The Elk Late-Successional Reserve Enhancement Project is in compliance with the Forest Plan, and other relevant laws, regulations, policies and plans including the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Project Location The Elk Late-Successional Reserve Enhancement Project (Elk project) is located in Siskiyou County, California. The Project area is approximately nine miles northeast of the community of McCloud and 70 miles northeast of Redding. The project area under analysis is approximately