Final Environmental Impact Statement Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest and the Klamath Ranger District (KRD) of the Fremont-Winema National Forest. A single male wolf has been detected repeatedly to the Northeast along the Williamson River. It is probable that individual wolves may disperse through the project area. The Calf-Copeland project area provides deer and elk, as well as other prey species for wolves year-round. In addition, there is an AKWA located on the southernmost portion of the KRD commonly referred to as the Keno wolves (Figure 58). Figure 58. Areas of known wolf activity associated with the Rogue, Keno, OR-28, and OR-25 wolves. 258 Final Environmental Impact Statement Figure 59. Areas of known wolf activity associated with the Indigo wolves. Direct and Indirect Effects Alternative 1 – No Action There would be no direct or indirect effects to wolves if proposed actions were not implemented. Existing habitat conditions, prey base, and potential for wolf/human conflict would not change. Natural processes over the long term such as growth in vegetation would not affect wolf behavior or ability to survive. Therefore, taking no action would have no effect to gray wolf. 259 Final Environmental Impact Statement All Action Alternatives No den or rendezvous sites have been identified to date within or near the project area; therefore there would be no direct disturbance to wolves. Although the proposed activities would modify deer and elk habitat, this project would not affect deer or elk habitat substantially enough to influence changes in prey populations. Therefore, prey availability in the area is not expected to change as a result of the proposed activities. Public access would not increase as a result of this project area. The proposed vegetation management activities would not affect potential denning or other habitat because wolves are considered a generalist habitat species. Therefore, the Calf-Copeland project would be a “no effect” to wolves. For more information about wolves, refer to the programmatic biological assessment for this project. Cumulative Effects Alternative 1 would have no cumulative effect, because no habitat would be altered. All action alternatives are not anticipated to have any measurable direct or indirect effects, and therefore are not anticipated to have any cumulative effects. Effects Determination Following consideration of the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects it is determined that all Alternatives considered would have no effects to grey wolves. Pallid Bat, Fringed Myotis, Townsend’s Big-eared Bat* * Although there are differences between these three species, threats in common include loss of roost habitat (snags) and degradation of foraging habitat. Therefore the effects for all three bat species are combined as one discussion. Pallid Bat Existing Condition Pallid Bats are broadly distributed across western North America, including the western United States, British Columbia and down into Mexico. In Oregon it is commonly found east of the Cascades as well as the interior valleys west of the Cascades. They are found in semi-arid habitats but can also be found in ponderosa woodlands, mixed conifer forest, oak woodland and riparian forests. In southwestern Oregon, they have been captured in mixed conifer forests of Douglas-fir and western red-cedar in lowland valleys. However, Pallid bats have been captured at elevations of 1600 meters in mixed conifer forest in southern Cascades. Roosting Habitat This species typically uses rock crevices, cliff over hangs, caves, bridges, and buildings for day roosts, night roosts and maternity colonies. In southwestern Oregon, this species was observed having a preference for ponderosa pine and oak snags even when other suitable habitat such as rock crevices were present (Cross et al.1996). Pallid Bats utilize both Day and Night roosts, while they may be close in proximity but are distinct in 260 Final Environmental Impact Statement function. Day roost selection may vary among individuals depending on season, reproductive status, and sex of bat. Night roosts are used by bats to consume prey and enter night torpor, they are characterized by easy access to flying bats but still offer protection from wind and rain. Variation of roosting sites across this species range suggest that stable temperature is a stronger indicator for suitable roosting sites rather than habitat type. Foraging Habitat In semi-arid habitats this species has been observed foraging for prey low to the ground in areas with little vegetation close to suitable roosting sites. In Oregon, this species has been observed foraging in mixed-conifer canopies of Douglas-Fir trees as well as in wind eddies at a cliff/forest edge in the Columbia River Basin. These observations suggest that Pallid bats are opportunistic foragers and adjust behavior depending on circumstance. Typically Foraging habitat is close to suitable roosting habitat, distance may vary depending on reproductive status and sex of bats. Within the Calf-Copeland project area, there are no known Pallid Bat observations, roosts or maternity colonies. Pallid bat observations have been documented in Douglas County, OR by Roseburg BLM. Additional information on Pallid Bats can be found in the Conservation Assessment for Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) in Oregon and Washington. The assessment was completed by the Oregon Wildlife Institute and was used for the information in this section. https://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/documents4/ca-ma-antrozous-pallidus-201606- 508.pdf Pacific Fringed Myotis Existing Condition This species is found throughout western North America in a variety of habitat types including, desert, grasslands, pine oak woodlands, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine forests and Douglas fir forests. In Oregon and Washington this species is primarily associated with drier forested habitat but can also be found less commonly in shrub-steppe habitat. Unlike other myotis species, this bat is associated with the upper canopy of forested habitat. Roosting Habitat This bat utilizes a variety of roost types, including caves, mines, rock crevices, and buildings. However, snags seem to be a key roost feature, particularly as maternity sites for reproducing females. Snags were in varying decay stages, or live trees with cracks, broken tops or exfoliating bark. On the Roseburg district of the BLM this species was found to use snags that still retained their bark (Cross et al. 1996). Although snags varied in decay and species composition, roost trees tended to be among the largest diameter and tallest available. Additionally, close proximity of other snags seemed to be an important component for site selection. 261 Final Environmental Impact Statement Foraging Habitat This species utilizes forest edges and forest clearings, including roads, as foraging habitat. In western Oregon, this species was collected while foraging in coniferous forest and have been observed foraging over water. Although water sources are an important resource for all bats, in the Oregon Coast Range, very little acoustic activity was recorded directly above streams (Over and Hayes 2008b). Furthermore, Ober and Hayes (2008a) suggested that this may be due to a greater insect abundance in areas with deciduous cover. Within the Calf-Copeland project area there are no known roosting sites of this species. This section was completed using information from the Conservation Assessment for the Fringed Myotis in Oregon and Washington. The assessment was compiled by Oregon Wildlife Institute for the Interagency Special Status and Sensitive Species Program. Townsends Big Eared Bat Existing Condition Townsend’s big-eared bat is a widely distributed species along the west coast, with isolated populations in the central and eastern US. Within this range, it occupies a wide variety of habitat types, including coniferous forests, deserts, prairies and agricultural areas. The key habitat feature appears to be the presence of cave or cave-like features for roosting and rearing young. Reports also exist of solitary individuals (likely males) utilizing buildings, bridges, rock crevices and hollow trees for roosting by non-breeding or non-wintering individuals. This species is a moth specialist with over 90 percent of its diet composed of lepidopterans and they forage primarily in riparian areas. It may cover large distances while foraging at night, with records of some foraging flights over 150 kilometers (93 miles) (Piaggio 2005). This species has been documented on the North Umpqua District, however there are no known roosting or maternity sites for this species within the Calf-Copeland project area. Direct and Indirect Effects Alternative 1 (No Action) This alternative would have no direct effects to these species as there would be no ground disturbing activities and no impacts to suitable habitat. Although these species utilize a variety of habitat for roosting, large decadent snags are an important habitat component. Under this alternative available snags and future recruitment of snags would remain the same. However, under this alternative species associated with open pine habitat may experience habitat decline and degradation over time within the planning area due to fire suppression. Additionally, this alternative would not address fire risk. High intensity stand replacement events may create suitable roosting snags but without surrounding vegetation for thermal regulation and cover from predation, habitat may not be suitable for bats. Low intensity,