United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE South Florida Ecological Services Office 1339 20” Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 June 3, 2011 Alfred A. Pantano, Colonel District Commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 701 San Marco Boulevard, Room 372 Jacksonville, Florida 32207-8175 Service Federal Activity Code: 41420-2006-FA-1500 Service Consultation Code: 41 420-2006-F-0674-R00 I Corps Application No.: SAJ-2000-l926 (IP-SB) Date Received: May 11, 2010 Formal Consultation Re-Initiation Date: August 30, 2010 Applicant: IM Collier Joint Venture Project: Mirasol County: Collier Dear Colonel Pantano: On April 22, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provided a Biological Opinion to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) concerning the construction of the Mirasol development project and its effects on the endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) and endangered wood stork (Mycteria americana). Upon reviewing the Biological Opinion, the Corps identified that several consultation history dates in the Biological Opinion were incorrect. The Corp also noted a discrepancy in the acreage of onsite compensation which influences acreage values and Panther Habitat Unit (PHU) calculations throughout the Biological Opinion. Consequently, the Service has coordinated with the applicant to address the Corps concerns. Based upon new information provided by the Corp and the applicant, the Service has decided to revise our April 22,2011, Biological Opinion (attached). Please note, the error in acreage calculations is minor; our revised Biological Opinion evaluates a loss of 10.55 acres of panther habitat above that presented in our April 22, 2011, Biological Opinion. To offset this additional loss, the applicant has proposed to purchase and manage an additional 18.31 acres of panther habitat elsewhere in the Panther Primary Zone. As will be seen in the revised Biological Opinion, this minor change does not fundamentally change our conclusion regarding the effects of the project on the Florida panther. No changes were necessary for our assessment of impacts to the wood stork or other listed species evaluated in the April 22,2011, Biological Opinion. Should you have further questions TAKE PRIDE®~ INAM ERIcA~ Aifted A. Pantano, Colonel Page 2 regarding this project, please contact Allen Webb at 772-469-4246. Thank you for your cooperation and effort in protecting fish and wildlife resources. Sincerely yours, •1’ encer Simon Acting Field Supervisor South Florida Ecological Services Office cc: electronic only Corps, Fort Myers, Florida (Skip Bergman) EPA, West Palm Beach, Florida (Ron Meidema) FWC, Naples, Florida (Darrell Land) FWC, Tallahassee, Florida (FWC-CPS, Mary Ann Poole, Traci Wallace) FWC, Tallahassee, Florida (Kipp Frohlich) Service, Atlanta, Georgia (Ken Graham) Service, Florida Panther NWR, Naples, Florida (Kevin Godsea) United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE South Florida Ecological Services Office 1339 20th Street Vera Beach, Florida 32960 June 3, 2011 Alfred A. Pantano, Colonel District Commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 701 San Marco Boulevard, Room 372 Jacksonville, Florida 32207-8175 Service Federal Activity Code: 41420-2006-FA-1500 Service Consultation Code: 41420-2006-F-0674-ROOI Corps Application No.: SAJ-2000-1926 (lP-SB) Date Received: May 11,2010 Formal Consultation Re-Initiation Date: August 30, 2010 Applicant: 1M Collier Joint Venture Project: Mirasol County: Collier Dear Colonel Pantano: This document transmits the Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) revised Biological Opinion for the construction of the Mirasol development project and its effects on the endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) and endangered wood stork (Mycteria americana) in accordance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (Act) (87 Stat. 884; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has requested re-initiation of formal consultation based on the Southern District of Florida Federal Court's determination that the Service's Biological Opinion (BO) dated May 3, 2007, for the construction of the Mirasol residential development was arbitrary and capricious. The Court found the Service's BO failed to analyze the impacts of other Federal projects in the action area when analyzing the environmental baseline and failed to explain the use of fish biomass data for fish less than 8 centimeters (cm) as the basis for determining the density of all fish in all hydroperiods when analyzing effects to the wood stork. The project as reviewed by the Service is based on information provided by the Corps in their August 9, 2006, Public Notice. In the Public Notice and letter to the Service, the Corps determined the Mirasol project "may affect" the Florida panther and wood stork. The Corps also determined the project "may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect" the threatened eastern indigo snake (Dlymarchon corais couperi) and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) (Pica ides borealis). The purpose of the project is to construct a residential golf course community in northern Collier County (Figure 1). The Corps’ 2006 Public Notice presented an application for fill and excavation in 652 acres of wetlands and other surface waters and alteration of 117 acres of uplands, impacting about 769 acres total. The project site is 1,713.45 acres and consists of 1,476.71 acres of jurisdictional wetlands and surface waters and 236.74 acres of uplands. Subsequent information received from the applicant and Corps during consultation indicated the project is actually for fill and excavation in 645.35 acres of wetlands and other surface waters and alteration of 127.62 acres of uplands on the 1,713.45-acre site, for a total project impact of 772.97 acres (Table 1). The application also referenced the preservation of 940.47 acres, of which 831.35 acres are wetlands and 109.12 acres are uplands. About 54.52 acres of forested wetlands and 2.24 acres of forested uplands, a component of the 940.47 acres, would be enhanced and preserved within the developed portions of the project. The preserve lands outside the development footprint total 903.66 acres and will form a contiguous preserve with adjacent preserved lands. The 903.66 acres include 794.54 acres of wetlands and 109.12 acres of uplands. The proposed preserve lands are situated to the south and west of the National Audubon Society Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (Corkscrew Sanctuary) and are connected by other preservation lands the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW). To provide mitigation for wetland impacts and panther compensation, the applicant will also purchase 27.68 wetland credits (equivalent to 82.21 acres) from PIMB and 2,329.67 PHUs of primary zone lands (equivalent to 291.10 acres), for an additional 373.31 acres (82.21+291.10=373.31) of off site preservation. The total preservation proposed by the applicant is 1,313.78 acres. Restoration of wetlands and uplands in the Mirasol preserve will consist of the removal of exotic vegetation, currently averaging 65 to 70 percent coverage, and the planting of areas with appropriate native communities. The preserve will be placed under a conservation easement granted to the South Florida Water Management District (District). The majority of the project site was historically used for cattle and pasture. Land use and habitat cover types include 219.92 acres of pine (Pinus spp.) flatwood uplands, 11.90 acres of Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius) uplands, 4.92 acres of road right-of-way, 4.29 acres of wet prairie, 0.27 acre of cattle pond, 1.43 acres of flag (Iris sp.) pond, 3.59 acres of Brazilian pepper wetlands, 1.39 acres of mixed hardwood forest, 383.64 acres of melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquernervia),819.01 acres of pine flatwood wetlands, 140.88 acres of cypress (Taxodium distichum), and122.21 acres of mixed cypress/pine flatwoods. The invasive exotic, melaleuca, has encroached into the entire project site, with large portions of the site supporting densities greater than 75 percent coverage. Over 85 percent of the project site has melaleuca densities of greater than 50 percent coverage. Total project footprint is 1,713.45 acres, with 940.47 acres of preservation and 772.97 acres of development (Table 1). When the Service reinitiates a consultation, the analysis of project related effects to listed species must incorporate the best and most current information on the project proposal, site footprint, and changes in the environmental baseline. The Service must also include and consider the best and most current information on listed species that may be affected by the proposed action. The Service, in correspondence to the Corps dated August 8, 2010, requested updated information necessary to meet the requirements of 50 CFR §402.14 (c). On August 30, 2010, the Service received from the applicant sufficient information to re-initiate formal consultation and concur 2 with the Corps’ determination that the proposed project “may affect” the Florida panther and the wood stork. The Service also concurs with the Corps’ determinations that the project “may affect, but is not likely to affect” the endangered RCW and the threatened eastern indigo snake. Consultation History The previous project was circulated under a Public Notice on May 25, 2001. The proposal was to construct an upscale residential golf course community with an external flow way, as required by the District, to convey excess flood waters from upstream, around the project, to the Cocohatchee Canal. The previous proposal was to impact 659 acres of wetlands, which were heavily infested with exotics. During the permitting process, the applicant offered onsite restoration and preservation of 792 acres of wetlands and 105 acres of uplands as mitigation for the proposed impacts. On July 11, 2002, the Service concurred with the Corps’ determination that the proposed project “may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect” the RCW and eastern indigo snake.