DRAFT ENDANGERED SPECIES BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT STATE ROAD 29 Project Development & Environment Study From State Road 82 to County Road 80A Collier and Hendry Counties, Florida Florida Department of Transportation, District One Financial Project ID No. 417878 2 22 01 Federal Project Number: TBD December 2008 Revised January 2009 Prepared for: Florida Department of Transportation District One 801 North Broadway Bartow, Florida 33830-3809 and AIM Engineering & Surveying, Inc. 5802 Breckenridge Parkway Suite 100 Tampa, Florida 33610 Prepared by: Scheda Ecological Associates, Inc. 5892 East Fowler Avenue Tampa, Florida 33617 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 7 2.0 PROJECT PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION........................................................ 8 2.1 NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT ................................................................... 9 2.2 PROJECT ALTERNATIVES................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Corridor Analysis.................................................................... 10 2.2.2 No-Build Alternative ............................................................... 10 2.2.3 Transportation System Management ..................................... 11 2.2.4 Build Alternatives ................................................................... 11 2.3 EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS ............................ 13 2.3.1 Land Use / Land Cover .......................................................... 13 2.3.2 Natural and Biological Features............................................. 14 2.3.2.1 Floral Communities ...................................................... 15 2.3.2.2 Wetland Communities .................................................. 17 2.3.2.3 Public Lands................................................................. 18 3.0 METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 19 3.1 PRELIMINARY DATA COLLECTION..................................................... 19 3.2 DETERMINATION OF SURVEY METHODOLOGY............................... 20 3.3 AGENCY COORDINATION ................................................................... 20 4.0 RESULTS........................................................................................................... 21 4.1 GENERAL CORRIDOR SURVEYS........................................................ 21 4.1.1 Federally Listed Species........................................................ 21 4.1.1.1 Wood Stork .................................................................. 21 4.1.1.2 Crested Caracara......................................................... 22 4.1.1.3 Florida Scrub Jay ......................................................... 23 4.1.1.4 Snail Kite...................................................................... 23 4.1.1.5 Florida Grasshopper Sparrow ...................................... 24 4.1.1.6 Eastern Indigo Snake................................................... 25 4.1.1.7 American Alligator ........................................................ 25 i 4.1.1.8 Florida Panther............................................................. 25 4.1.2 State Listed Species .............................................................. 26 4.1.2.1 Wading Birds................................................................ 26 4.1.3 Listed Plants .......................................................................... 30 4.1.3.1 Carters Large-Flowered Flax........................................ 30 5.0 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES.................................................................. 31 5.1 ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL PROTECTED SPECIES IMPACTS........... 31 5.1.1 Direct Impacts........................................................................ 31 5.1.1.1 No Build/No Project...................................................... 31 5.1.1.2 Build Alternatives ......................................................... 31 5.1.2 Indirect, Secondary and Cumulative Impacts......................... 33 5.1.2.1 No Build/No Project...................................................... 33 5.1.2.2 Build Alternatives ......................................................... 33 6.0 CONCLUSIONS, COMMITMENTS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................... 34 7.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 35 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Figure 1 Project Location Map Figure 2 Existing Land Use/ Land Cover (FLUCFCS) Map Figure 3 Future Land Use/Land Cover (FLUCFCS) Projection (2025) Map Figure 4 Existing and Proposed Management/Conservation Areas Map Figure 5 Protected Species Occurrence Map Figure 6 Florida Panther Telemetry/Mortality Data and Focus Area Map LIST OF TABLES Table Table 1 Existing Land Use / Land Cover (FLUCFCS) within the Project Area and Alternative Alignments Table 2 Protected Floral Species Located Within Collier and Hendry Counties, Florida Table 3 Potential Protected Faunal Species Within or Near the Project Corridor Table 4 Listed and Non-Listed Wildlife Documented Within or Near the Project Corridor Table 5 Potential Habitat Impacts Based Upon Existing Land Use/Land Cover Within the Project Area APPENDICES Appendix A Typical Section B FDOT Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) Summary Report C South Florida Programmatic Concurrence: Eastern Indigo Snake and Wood Stork D FDOT Construction Precautions for the Eastern Indigo Snake E Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines Gopherus Polyphemus: Revised September 2008 F Southwest Florida Developments of Regional Impact iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is conducting a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study to evaluate the proposed widening of State Road (S.R.) 29 from S.R. 82 in Collier County to County Road (C.R.) 80A in Hendry County. The total project length is 18.0 miles, of which 2.0 miles are in Collier County and the remaining 16.0 miles are in Hendry County. This Endangered Species Biological Assessment (ESBA) has been prepared to aid FDOT in determining the type, design, and location of improvements to the existing facility and to evaluate impacts, if any, associated with alternatives for the proposed improvements. This listed species assessment was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of initial data collection to develop a project overview, facilitate agency coordination, and determine if any specific state or federally listed species may be found within the project boundary. The second phase consisted of considering appropriate survey methodologies and incorporating these methodologies into respective wildlife surveys. Protected Species with Both Federal and State Designation The wood stork (Mycteria americana) is listed as endangered by both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The project boundary is located within the Core Foraging Area (CFA) of five wood stork colonies. During general wildlife surveys, wood storks were observed foraging in a canal and a wetland located in the northwest area of the project. For potential impacts greater than five acres to wetlands within the CFA of a wood stork colony, the USFWS South Florida Ecological Service Office recommends compensation for loss of wood stork foraging habitat beyond the typical wetland mitigation requirements. Compensation should replace wetland functions lost due to a project. The USFWS requires the calculation of wood stork prey biomass lost for impacted wetlands and also prey biomass gained for wetlands utilized as compensation. The wetlands utilized for compensation should be within the CFA of the affected wood stork colony and should be of similar hydroperiod. Mitigation for wetland impacts will mitigate any foraging habitat loss for wood stork and also other listed wading birds. Since FDOT is committed to re-initiating Section 7 consultation during the design phase and prior to permitting the project, the project may affect the wood stork. The crested caracara (Caracara cheriway) is listed as threatened by both the USFWS and FWC. The entire project corridor is located within the USFWS crested caracara 1 Consultation Area (CA) and caracaras were sighted numerous times within the project boundary. No nest trees were located in or near the project boundary. Large areas of suitable foraging and nesting habitat are found outside the project boundary. It is anticipated that the project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the crested caracara. The Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) is listed as a threatened species by the USFWS and FWC. The entire project is located within the USFWS Florida scrub jay CA. The project area does not contain suitable scrub jay habitat and scrub jays were not observed during field surveys. Due to the lack of both suitable Florida scrub jay habitat and sightings, it is anticipated that the project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Florida scrub jay. The snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) is listed as endangered by both the USFWS and FWC. The entire project corridor is located within the USFWS snail kite CA. Field surveys did not detect snail kites or their food source in the project area. The nearest documented snail kite occurrence,