Chapter 10: Terrestrial Biological Resources Chapter 10 1 Terrestrial Biological Resources 2 10.1 Introduction 3 This chapter describes terrestrial biological resources in the Study Area; and 4 potential changes that could occur as a result of implementing the alternatives 5 evaluated in this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Implementation of the 6 alternatives could affect terrestrial biological resources through potential changes 7 in operation of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) 8 and ecosystem restoration. 9 10.2 Regulatory Environment and Compliance 10 Requirements 11 Potential actions that could be implemented under the alternatives evaluated in 12 this EIS could affect terrestrial biological resources in areas: along the shorelines 13 and in the waters of reservoirs that store CVP and SWP water supplies, along 14 rivers and waterways (including bypasses) impacted by changes in the operations 15 of CVP or SWP reservoirs, within agricultural areas served by CVP and SWP 16 water supplies, and modified to provide wetland habitat. Actions located on 17 public agency lands; or implemented, funded, or approved by Federal and state 18 agencies would need to be compliant with appropriate Federal and state agency 19 policies and regulations, as summarized in Chapter 4, Approach to 20 Environmental Analyses. 21 10.3 Affected Environment 22 This section describes terrestrial biological resources that could potentially be 23 affected by implementing the alternatives considered in this EIS. Changes in 24 terrestrial biological resources due to changes in CVP and SWP operations may 25 occur in the Trinity River, Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast, 26 and Southern California regions. 27 Terrestrial biological resources occur throughout the Study Area. However, the 28 analysis in this EIS is focused on terrestrial biological resources that could be 29 directly or indirectly affected by the implementation of the alternatives analyzed 30 in this EIS. The areas that could be affected are related to specific areas: 1) along 31 the shorelines of reservoirs that store CVP and SWP water supplies, 2) along 32 rivers downstream of CVP or SWP reservoirs, 3) areas with wetland habitat 33 restoration in the Yolo Bypass and Suisun Marsh, 4) wildlife refuges that receive 34 CVP water supplies, 5) riparian corridors within the Delta, and 6) within 35 agricultural acreage that is irrigated with CVP and SWP water supplies. Draft LTO EIS 10-1 Chapter 10: Terrestrial Biological Resources 1 Therefore, the following description of the affected environment is limited to 2 these areas. 3 10.3.1 Overview of Species with Special Status 4 Species with special status are defined as species that are legally protected or 5 otherwise considered sensitive by Federal, state, or local resource agencies, 6 including: 7 • Species listed by the Federal government as threatened or endangered, 8 • Species listed by the State of California as threatened, endangered, or rare 9 (rare status is for plants only), 10 • Species that are formally proposed for Federal listing or are candidates for 11 Federal listing as threatened or endangered, 12 • Species that are candidates for State listing as threatened or endangered, 13 • Species that meet the definitions of rare, threatened, or endangered under 14 California Environmental Quality Act, 15 • Species identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as Birds of 16 Conservation Concern, 17 • Species considered sensitive by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 18 or U.S. Forest Service (USFS), 19 • Species identified by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) as 20 species of special concern, species designated by California statute as fully 21 protected (e.g., California Fish and Game Code, sections 3511 [birds], 22 4700 [mammals], and 5050 [reptiles and amphibians] and 5515 [fish]) or bird 23 species on the CDFW Watch List, and 24 • Species, subspecies, and varieties of plants considered by CDFW and 25 California Native Plant Society (CNPS) to be rare, threatened, or endangered 26 in California. The CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of 27 California assigns California Rare Plant Ranks (CRPR) categories for plant 28 species of concern. Only plant species in CRPR categories 1 and 2 are 29 considered special status plant species in this document: 30 – CRPR 1A—Plants presumed to be extinct in California. 31 – CRPR 1B—Plants that are rare, threatened, or endangered in California 32 and elsewhere. 33 – CRPR 2—Plants that are rare, threatened, or endangered in California but 34 more common elsewhere. 35 A listing of wildlife and plant species with special status that occur or may occur 36 in portions of the Study Area and are affected by the long-term coordinated 37 operation of the CVP and SWP is provided in Appendix 10A. Relevant 38 documents used to assemble these resource lists include the list of Federal 39 endangered and threatened species that occur in or may be affected by projects in 10-2 Draft LTO EIS Chapter 10: Terrestrial Biological Resources 1 the counties within the Study Area generated on-line from the USFWS 2 Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. 3 To supplement the U.S. Fish and Wildlife lists, the California Natural Diversity 4 Database (CNDDB) was queried (DFG 2012) for regions where recent 5 documentation was lacking. This included the Stanislaus River corridor between 6 New Melones Dam and the San Joaquin River confluence, and the Trinity River 7 Region, including Trinity Lake, Lewiston Reservoir, Whiskeytown Lake, and 8 Clear Creek between Carr Powerhouse and the Sacramento River confluence. 9 10.3.1.1 Critical Habitat 10 Critical habitat refers to areas designated by the USFWS for the conservation of 11 species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 12 1973, as amended through the 108th Congress (ESA). When a species is proposed 13 for listing under the ESA, the USFWS considers whether there are certain areas 14 essential to the conservation of the species. Critical habitat is defined in 15 Section 3, Provision 5 of the ESA as follows. 16 (5)(A) The term “critical habitat” for a threatened or endangered species 17 means - 18 (i) the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by 19 a species at the time it is listed in accordance with the Act, on 20 which are found those physical or biological features (I) 21 essential to the conservation of the species, and (II) which may 22 require special management considerations or protection; and 23 (ii) specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by a 24 species at the time it is listed in accordance with the provisions 25 of section 4 of this Act, upon a determination by the Secretary 26 that such areas are essential for the conservation of the 27 species. 28 Any Federal action (permit, license, or funding) in critical habitat requires that 29 Federal agency to consult with the USFWS where the action has potential to 30 adversely modify the habitat for terrestrial species. 31 The federally listed wildlife and plant species considered in this EIS that have 32 designated critical habitat areas that could be affected by modification of CVP 33 and SWP operations are presented in Table 10.1 below. There are occurrences of 34 critical habitat of other species not included in Table 10.1 or other locations of 35 critical habitat of the species listed in Table 10.1 which are not included below 36 because those occurrences are not located within the CVP or SWP service areas 37 or in areas that could be affected by modification of CVP and SWP operations, 38 such as lands located at high elevations within national forests where CVP and 39 SWP water is not delivered. Draft LTO EIS 10-3 Chapter 10: Terrestrial Biological Resources 1 Table 10.1 Terrestrial Species with Designated Critical Habitat in Portions of the 2 Study Area that Could Be Affected by Changes in CVP and SWP Operations Species Regionsa Counties Least Bell’s Vireo Central Coast and Riverside, San Bernardino, San Southern California Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura Buena Vista Lake Central Valley Kern Shrew Fresno Kangaroo Rat Central Valley Fresno California Tiger Central Valley Alameda, Kern, Kings, Madera, Salamander Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare, Yolo California Red-legged Central Valley, San Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Frog Francisco Bay Area, El Dorado, Kern, Kings, Los Central Coast, Angeles, Merced, Nevada, Placer, Southern California San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Ventura, Yuba Alameda Whipsnake Central Valley and San Alameda, San Joaquin, Santa Francisco Bay Area Clara Valley Elderberry Central Valley Sacramento Longhorn Beetle Conservancy Fairy Central Valley Butte, Merced, Solano, Stanislaus, Shrimp Tehama, Ventura Longhorn Fairy Central Valley Alameda, Contra Costa, Merced Shrimp Vernal Pool Fairy Central Valley and San Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Shrimp Francisco Bay Area Fresno, Glenn, Madera, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tulare, Ventura, Yuba Vernal Pool Tadpole Central Valley Alameda, Colusa, Kings, Madera, Shrimp Merced, Sacramento, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tulare, Yolo, Yuba Butte County Central Valley Butte, Tehama Meadowfoam Colusa Grass Central Valley Merced, Stanislaus, Yolo Hairy Orcutt Grass Central Valley Butte, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus, Tehama San Joaquin Hairy Central