Biological Assessment For Federally Listed Species For Silverton Guides Helicopter Ski Terrain Exchange Prepared For: Bureau of Land Management, Gunnison Field Office, Gunnison County, Colorado Prepared By: Reviewed By: Clayton Bowers Katherine Brodhead Rocky Mountain Ecology, LLC Bureau of Land Management 306 Rosalie Dr. 210 West Spencer Ave., Suite A Durango, CO 81301 Gunnison, CO 81230 Date: October 2016 Date: December 2016 Contents INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Purpose ................................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. CONSULTATION HISTORY ....................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. PROJECT INFORMATION ......................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Location ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Background ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Proposed Federal Action .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. PROJECT DESIGN CRITERIA .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Landing Zones ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 No Fly Zones .......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Typical Flight Corridors ....................................................................................................................................... 4 User Days ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 Avalanche Mitigation and Stability Testing ........................................................................................................ 5 EXISTING VEGETATION........................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. SPECIES CONSIDERED ............................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Discussion Of Effects To Federally-Listed Species ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Downstream Listed Fishes .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Effects .............................................................................................................. 7 Determination ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Terrestrial Species ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Canada Lynx ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Status and Distribution of Lynx in the Analysis Area: ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Anthropogenic Influences Specific to Canada Lynx ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Affected Environment and Environmental Baseline ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Risk Factors Affecting Lynx Productivity .......................................................................................................... 10 Risk Factors Affecting Lynx Mortality ............................................................................................................... 10 Risk Factors Affecting Lynx Movement and Dispersal ..................................................................................... 10 Direct and Indirect Effects ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Cumulative Effects .............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Determination ..................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Canada Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy – Conservation Measures ......... Error! Bookmark not defined. North American Wolverine ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Status and Distribution of Wolverine in the Analysis Area: ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined. DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS ............................................................................................................................... 14 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ............................................................................................................................................. 15 DETERMINATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly ............................................................................................................................. 15 Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Effects: ........................................................................................................... 15 Determination ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 1. Vicinity Map. ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 2. Location of Silverton Guides SRP removed and proposed allowable use areas .................................................. 20 Figure 3. Silverton-Lake City linkage area in the Silverton Guides SRP project area.......................................................... 21 Figure 4. Lynx habitat in the Silverton Guides SRP project area .......................................................................................... 22 Silverton Guides Helicopter Ski Terrain Exchange BA I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this BA is to evaluate the potential effects from the proposed Silverton Guides Helicopter Ski Terrain Exchange project on federally listed fish and wildlife species and candidates for federal listing, as designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The species considered are those that are known to occur or have the potential to occur in San Juan County on Bureau of Land Management land managed by the Gunnison Field Office. A list of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) threatened, endangered, candidate, and proposed wildlife species as well as conservation status, habitat associations, and potential to occur in the analysis area is presented in Table 2. The proposed amendment to Silverton Guides’ helicopter skiing (heli-skiing) Special Recreation Permit (SRP) would change allowable use area (AUAs); including removal, retention, and expansion of areas where heli-skiing is authorized. Overall, there would be a net increase of 10,686 acres authorized for operations. This BA will review proposed activities associated with the exchange in sufficient detail to identify the level of effect that may occur to federally listed species. In 2008, an Environmental Assessment (EA) (and accompanying BA) was completed that analyzed impacts of three alternatives in the project area (Telluride Helitrax Special Recreation Permit EA and Decision Record (CO-800-2006-037-EA)). As part of that analysis, it was determined that the Proposed Action may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Canada lynx. All other species analyzed had “no effect” determinations. The current Proposed Action includes the removal of five of the individual ski areas (ski pods) and addition of four ski pods to the Silverton Guides SRP. II. PROPOSED ACTION A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The BLM is responding to an application by Silverton Guides to exchange terrain that is permitted for heli-skiing under an existing SRP with other terrain on BLM lands. Silverton Guides currently holds an SRP for heli-skiing operations across 14,388 acres within eight ski pods but the requested exchange would remove five pods (5,566 acres), open operations in four new pods (16,252 acres), and retain three pods (Table 1, Figure 2). The purpose of this project is to improve the economic viability of Silverton Guides as an important