RED GAP RANCH BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE EVALUATION Prepared for: Southwest Ground-water Consultants, Inc. Prepared by: WestLand Resources, Inc. Date: February 14, 2014 Project No.: 1822.01 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................ 1 2. EXISTING ENVIRONMENT AND BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ................................................... 2 2.1. Approach ...................................................................................................................................... 2 2.2. Physical Environment ................................................................................................................... 2 2.3. Biological Environment and Resources ....................................................................................... 3 3. SCREENING ANALYSIS FOR SPECIES OF CONCERN ................................................................ 5 3.1. Approach ...................................................................................................................................... 5 3.2. Screening Analysis Results .......................................................................................................... 7 3.2.1. USFWS-listed Species ...................................................................................................... 7 3.2.2. USFS Coconino National Forest Sensitive Species ........................................................ 15 3.2.3. USFS Management Indicator Species ............................................................................. 33 3.2.4. AGFD Wildlife of Special Concern ................................................................................ 35 4. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES .......................................................................................... 37 5. LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................................... 42 TABLES Table 1. Wildlife Species Observed During Project Area Site Visit, Sept. 23-26, 2013. ................... 5 Table 2. Screening Analysis for USFWS Federally Listed Endangered, Threatened, Candidate, and Proposed Plant and Animal Species – Coconino County, Arizona ............................... 8 Table 3. Screening Analysis for USFS CNF Sensitive Species ....................................................... 16 Table 4. Screening Analysis for CNF MIS ....................................................................................... 34 Table 5. Screening Analysis for AGFD WSC – Coconino County, Arizona. .................................. 36 Table 6. Species of Concern with Potential to Occur within the Project Area. ................................ 38 FIGURES (follow text) Figure 1. Vicinity Map Figure 2. Project Area Figure 3. Observation Locations Figure 4. Brown and Lower’s Biotic Communities of the Southwest Figure 5. Proposed and Existing Project Infrastructure Q:\Jobs\1800's\1822.01\ENV\2015 1209 Revision to COF\RGR BE_021414(rev).docx WestLand Resources, Inc. Engineering and Environmental Consultants Red Gap Ranch February 14, 2014 Biological Resource Evaluation Page ii APPENDICES (follow text) Appendix A. Representative Ground Photographs Appendix B. USFWS Listed Species Occurring in Coconino County, Arizona Appendix C. 2007 Lists of USFS Sensitive Plants and Animals Appendix D. 2013 Lists of USFS Sensitive Plants and Animals Appendix E. USFS CNF Management Indicator Species Appendix F. AGFD HDMS Special Status Species by County Appendix G. NNDFW Endangered Species List Appendix H. NNDFW Sensitive Species List Appendix I. AGFD HDMS On-line Environmental Review Tool Query Q:\Jobs\1800's\1822.01\ENV\2015 1209 Revision to COF\RGR BE_021414(rev).docx WestLand Resources, Inc. Engineering and Environmental Consultants Red Gap Ranch February 14, 2014 Biological Resource Evaluation Page 1 1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES WestLand Resources Inc. (WestLand) was contracted by Southwest Ground-water Consultants, Inc. (SGC) to conduct a Biological Resource Evaluation (BRE) at the City of Flagstaff’s Red Gap Ranch (RGR) in support of the RGR Water Resources Environmental Assessment. To provide future municipal water supplies, the City of Flagstaff proposes to construct pumping infrastructure and associated features at RGR (the Project), which currently include maintenance and upgrades of existing water production wells and unpaved access roads, construction of an onsite water treatment facility, a pumping facility, secondary pipelines from the water production wells to the treatment and pumping facilities, and onsite power distribution. This evaluation does not include offsite water transmission lines and appurtenant facilities to transport water from RGR to Flagstaff. The area broadly referred to as the RGR encompasses approximately 25,000 acres in southeast Coconino County, Arizona, and is located approximately 40 miles east of Flagstaff and 15 miles northwest of Winslow, and immediately north of U.S. Interstate 40 (Figure 1; the Project Area). It encompasses portions of Sections 4-6, Township 19 North, Range 14 East; portions of Sections 1-3 and 12, Township 20 North, Range 12 East; portions of Sections 1-3 and 10-14, Township 20 North, Range 12 ½ East; portions of Sections 7-30 and 33-36, Township 20 North, Range 13 East; and portions of Sections 4-9, 16-21, and 28- 34, Township 20 North, Range 14 East; Gila and Salt River Meridian, Coconino County Arizona. The Project Area is composed of approximately 8,500 acres of deeded private land and approximately 16,500 acres of Arizona State Trust Lands (Figure 2). Of the 8,500 acres of private lands in the Project Area, all are managed by the City of Flagstaff (the City). Land ownership immediately surrounding most of the Project Area includes a checkerboard of private and State Trust Lands, with the northern boundary adjacent to the lands of the Navajo Nation (see Figure 2). The Mormon Lake Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest occurs to the west and southwest of the Project Area at a distance of approximately 10 and 12 miles, respectively. The proposed Project currently anticipates that some federal funding for construction will be provided by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). In addition, construction and operation of the Project and offsite transmission facilities will likely require federal permits. As such, the BOR has determined the Project, as well as the proposed transmission pipeline to bring water from the Project Area to the City, are major federal actions requiring the disclosure of effects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) prior to funding and initiation of construction activities. This evaluation has been prepared to provide baseline information regarding biological resources and potential effects that may result from Project construction. The analysis presented here does not address construction of the water transmission line from RGR to Flagstaff or potential effects of water well operation at RGR. The objectives of the BRE are: (1) a description of the existing physical environment and biological resources within the Project Area, (2) a screening analysis to determine which of the sensitive species identified by the BOR (collectively, Species of Concern) have the potential to occur within the Project Area, and (3) to determine the potential effects of the construction of the Project on extant biological resources within the Project Area. Q:\Jobs\1800's\1822.01\ENV\2015 1209 Revision to COF\RGR BE_021414(rev).docx WestLand Resources, Inc. Engineering and Environmental Consultants Red Gap Ranch February 14, 2014 Biological Resource Evaluation Page 2 The BRE is presented in five sections: 1. Background and Objectives 2. Existing Environment and Biological Resources 3. Screening Analysis for Species of Concern 4. Environmental Consequences 5. Literature Cited 2. EXISTING ENVIRONMENT AND BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES 2.1. APPROACH WestLand accessed available reference material and resources and visited the Project Area during September 23-26, 2013 for the purpose of characterizing and describing habitats found within the Project Area to inform this analysis. Prior to the September site visit, WestLand reviewed aerial photography (National Agriculture Imagery Program 2013), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps (Canyon Diablo, Meteor Crater, Tucker Mesa, Tucker Mesa NE, Tucker Mesa NW, and Tucker Mesa SW USGS 7.5' Quadrangles), and the National Wetlands Inventory mapper (USFWS 2013a) to preliminarily identify potential unique habitats for inspection during the site visit. In particular, this research was intended to identify known or visible aquatic features such as springs and seeps, riparian areas, wetlands, earthen stock tanks, and cave or mine features. Additional resources and references reviewed included the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AGFD) Habimap data viewer and Heritage Data Management System (HDMS). Research prior to fieldwork also involved the preparation of a preliminary summary table of the potential habitat requirements of sensitive species identified by the BOR for consideration in this BRE. These species, collectively referred to as Species of Concern, are listed in Section 3. WestLand used the preliminary summary table during the site visit to facilitate review of landscape features, vegetation communities, and soil types within the Project Area to target for assessment of the potential to occur for these species. During