DRAFT BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION FOR PROPOSED LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS DAKOTA PRAIRIE GRASSLANDS NEBRASKA NATIONAL FOREST AND ASSOCIATED UNITS THUNDER BASIN NATIONAL GRASSLAND Prepared By: Kurt Hansen, Range Management Specialist Geri Morris, Botanist Susan Rinehart, Botanist Kathy Rodriguez, Wildlife Biologist Greg Schenbeck, Wildlife Biologist Preliminary Determinations Made By: Kurt Hansen (Plants) Susan Rinehart (Plants) Greg Schenbeck (Animals) Table of Contents Section 1. Introduction . H-1 Area Affected . H-2 Biological Assessment and Evaluation Process . H-3 Pre-field Review . H-3 Field Reconnaissance . H-3 Analysis of Effects. H-4 Preliminary Determinations . H-5 Section 2. Biological Assessment for Species Protected Under the Endangered Species Act and at Risk of Rangewide Imperilment . H-7 Species Eliminated From Further Analysis . H-7 Species Evaluations . H-8 Blowout Penstemon (Penstemon haydenii) . H-8 Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera praeclara) . H-11 Ute ladies' tresses (Spiranthes diluvialis) . H-16 American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) . H-18 Whooping Crane (Grus americana) . H-22 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) . H-25 American Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinis anatum) . H-27 Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) . H-30 Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) . H-43 Section 3 - Biological Evaluation for Species that May be at Risk of Rangewide Imperilment but are Not Protected Under the Endangered Species Act . H-48 Species Eliminated From Further Analysis . H-48 Species Evaluations . H-48 Dakota Buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri) . H-48 Smooth Goosefoot (Chenopodium subglabrum) . H-51 Barr Orphaca (Astragulus barii) . H-57 Dakota Skipper (Hesperia dacotae) . H-60 Eastern Skipperling (Oarisma powesheik) . H-64 Regal Fritillary (Spyeria idalia) . H-68 Sturgeon Chub (Macrohybopsis gelida) . H-71 Swift Fox (Vulpes velox) . H-74 Section 4. Biological Evaluation for Species that may be at Risk of Regional or More Local Imperilment . H-78 Species Eliminated from Further Analysis . H-78 Species Descriptions for Fine Filter Analyses . H-85 Sand Lily (Leucocrinum montanum). H-85 Upright Pinweed (Lechea stricta) . H-89 Handsome Sedge (Carex formosa) . H-93 Tawny Crescent Butterfly (Phyciodes batesii) . H-97 Prairie Skipper (Hesperia ottoe) . H-100 Flathead Chub (Platygobio gracilis) . H-102 Longnose Sucker (Catastomus catastomus) . H-105 Plains Topminnow (Fundulus sciadicus). H-108 Table of Contents, cont. Lewis' Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) . H-110 Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) . H-113 Western Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) . H-118 California Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) . H-122 Merlin (Falco columbarius) . H-125 Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). H-128 Sage Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). H-131 Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus). H-135 Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). H-144 Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) . H-146 Coarse Filter Analyses . H-149 Animals . H-149 Grasslands . H-149 Riparian Habitats . H-152 Wetlands . H-154 Coarse Filter Analyses . H-156 Plants. H-156 Eastern Prairie Boggy Wetlands. H-156 Tallgrass Prairie Wetlands . H-166 Tallgrass Prairie Deciduous Hardwoods . H-172 Tallgrass Prairie Choppy Sandhills . H-177 Western Plains Riparian . H-182 Scoria Hills . H-187 Buttes . H-191 Western Wooded Draw. H-199 References. H-200 Index . H-213 List of Tables Table H-1: Distribution of Plant and Animal Species that are Protected Under the Endangered Species Act and at Risk of Extinction Throughout Their Range.. ..