Green-Horse Habitat Restoration and Maintenance Project Biological Evaluation/Biological Assessment for Botanical Species and Supplementary Botany Report Prepared by: ____________________________________ Date: _____________ Christine West Botanist VMS Enterprise Unit (530) 370-4755 [email protected] Reviewed by: ____________________________________ Date: _____________ Julie Nelson Forest Botanist Shasta-Trinity National Forest (530) 226-2426 [email protected] i Table of Contents Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................... iii Table of Figures .............................................................................................................................. iii Biological Evaluation ...................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Project Summary ......................................................................................................................... 4 Location ................................................................................................................................... 4 Proposed Action ...................................................................................................................... 5 Regulatory Framework .................................................................................................................... 6 Policy, Laws, and Direction ........................................................................................................ 6 Land and Resource Management Plan .................................................................................... 6 Categories of Plant Species of Concern .................................................................................. 9 Analysis Methodology .................................................................................................................. 10 General ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Cumulative Effects .................................................................................................................... 11 Temporal Boundary ............................................................................................................... 11 Spatial Boundary ................................................................................................................... 11 Data Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 13 Issues and Issue Indicators ........................................................................................................ 13 Known Sites of Sensitive Species ............................................................................................. 14 Field Surveys ............................................................................................................................. 15 Affected Environment ................................................................................................................... 18 Existing Condition ..................................................................................................................... 18 Sensitive Botanical Species Accounts ....................................................................................... 20 Species Accounts – Vascular Plants ...................................................................................... 21 Species Accounts – Bryophyte and Fungi Species ................................................................ 24 Desired Condition ...................................................................................................................... 25 Environmental Consequences ....................................................................................................... 26 Intensity of Effects .................................................................................................................... 26 Duration of Effects .................................................................................................................... 26 Alternative 1 - No Action .......................................................................................................... 26 Direct and Indirect Effects ..................................................................................................... 26 Cumulative Effects ................................................................................................................ 30 Alternatives 2 and 3 ................................................................................................................... 31 Alternative 2 – Proposed Action ........................................................................................... 31 Alternative 3 – No Forest Plan Amendment ......................................................................... 31 Design Features Common to Both Action Alternatives ............................................................ 31 Effects Common to Both Action Alternatives ........................................................................... 32 Direct Effects ......................................................................................................................... 35 Indirect Effects ...................................................................................................................... 37 Cumulative Effects ................................................................................................................ 40 Effects Unique to Alternative 2 ..................................................................................................... 42 Forest Plan Amendment ............................................................................................................ 42 Dozer Line Construction or Reconstruction .............................................................................. 43 Determination ................................................................................................................................ 44 Compliance with the Forest Plan and Other Regulatory Direction ............................................... 44 Monitoring ..................................................................................................................................... 44 Biological Assessment .................................................................................................................. 45 References ..................................................................................................................................... 47 Appendix A: Sensitive Plant Species Analysis ............................................................................. 51 Appendix B: Supplemental Botanical Report .............................................................................. 57 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 57 Current Management direction and Affected Environment ...................................................... 57 Forest Plan Endemic Species ................................................................................................. 57 Survey & Manage Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, Lichens, and Fungi ................................... 63 Watch List Species ................................................................................................................ 64 Supplemental Report References .................................................................................................. 67 Table of Tables Table 1. Past, current/ongoing and reasonably foreseeable future actions and events – Green- Horse Habitat Restoration and Maintenance Project ..................................................................... 11 Table 2. Potential Sensitive Species within the Green-Horse Project area ................................... 14 Table 3. Global/State ranks defined .............................................................................................. 20 Table 4. Crown fire and flame length potential on the existing landscape (NFS lands only) within the project area under 90th percentile parameters .......................................................................... 27 Table 5. Crown Fire and flame length potential for prescribed fire and post-treatment wildfire (90th percentile) parameters for Alternatives 2 and 3 .................................................................... 33 Table 6. Sensitive or Endemic Botanical Species Known or Suspected to Occur on the Shasta- Trinity National Forest and Probability of Occurrence within the project area ............................ 51 Table 7. CNPS California Rare Plant and Threat Ranks ............................................................... 64 Table of Figures Figure 1. Green-Horse Project – botanical surveys ....................................................................... 17 iii Biological Evaluation Introduction The purpose of this biological evaluation/supplementary report is to review the proposed Green- Horse Habitat Restoration and Maintenance project (hereafter referred to as the