Environmental Assessment Appendix C. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail Buckman Road Segment, Retracement Trail Project Biological Assessment and Evaluation El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, Appendix C Buckman Road Segment, Retracement Trail Project November 2016 BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION for the EL CAMINO REAL DE TIERRA ADENTRO NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL BUCKMAN ROAD SEGMENT RETRACEMENT TRAIL PROJECT Santa Fe County, New Mexico November 2016 Lead Federal Agency: FHWA CFLHD Prepared by: Sirena Brownlee HDR Engineering, Inc. 1670 Broadway, Suite 3400 Denver, CO 80202 Biological Assessment and Evaluation for El Camino Trail Contents 1.0 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 2.0 Purpose and Need ...............................................................................................................3 3.0 Description of the Proposed Project.....................................................................................3 4.0 Consultation and Coordination History.................................................................................5 4.1 Methods and Field Studies................................................................................................5 4.1.1 Species Evaluation and Effects Determination..........................................................6 5.0 Description of the Analysis Area ..........................................................................................8 6.0 Action Area.........................................................................................................................12 7.0 Species Considered and Evaluated ...................................................................................12 8.0 Analysis of Effects..............................................................................................................31 8.1 General Impacts Common to All Species .......................................................................31 8.1.1 Potential Impacts to Migratory Birds........................................................................32 8.2 Species-Specific Impacts and Effects Determination......................................................33 8.2.1 Fringed myotis (Myotis thysandoes)........................................................................33 8.2.2 Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni)..........................................................33 8.2.3 Long-legged myotis (Myotis volans)........................................................................33 8.2.4 Pale Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendia pallescens).................34 8.2.5 Spotted bat (Euderma maculatum)..........................................................................34 8.2.6 Western small-footed myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum) ...................................................34 8.2.7 Western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis)..............................................................35 8.2.8 American peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) ...........................................35 8.2.9 Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) ...................................................................35 8.2.10 Bendire's thrasher (Toxostoma bendirei) ................................................................36 8.2.11 Cassin's finch (Carpodacus cassinii).......................................................................36 8.2.12 Ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis)............................................................................36 8.2.13 Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) ...........................................................................37 8.2.14 Gray vireo (Vireo vicinior)........................................................................................37 8.2.16 Loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)................................................................38 8.2.17 Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus).................................................................38 8.2.18 Pinyon jay (Gymnorhnus cyanocephalus)...............................................................38 8.2.19 Sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) .................................................................39 8.2.20 Virginia's warbler (Vermivore virginiae) ...................................................................39 8.2.21 Western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugea) ............................................39 8.3 Santa Fe National Forest Management Indicator Species..............................................41 8.4 MIS Impacts and Effects Determination..........................................................................43 8.4.1 Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni)........................................................43 8.4.2 Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) ........................................................................44 8.4.3 Pinyon jay (Gymnorhnus cyanocephalus)...............................................................44 9.0 Summary............................................................................................................................45 10.0 Recommended Conservation Measures to Avoid or minimize impacts .............................45 11.0 Literature Cited...................................................................................................................47 TOC | i Biological Assessment and Evaluation for El Camino Trail Appendices Appendix A. Agency correspondence and USFWS IPaC Letter Figures Figure 1. Project Location............................................................................................................2 Tables Table 1. Federally-listed, State-listed and Sensitive Species with Potential to occur in the Project Action Area.....................................................................................................13 Table 2. Santa Fe National Forest Management Indicator Species .........................................41 Photos Photo 1. Typical juniper savannah habitat................................................................................10 Photo 2. Typical arroyo lined with rubber rabbitbrush and other species .................................11 TOC | ii Biological Assessment and Evaluation for El Camino Trail 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD), in cooperation with Santa Fe County, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), is proposing the development of a trail following a portion of the congressionally designated route of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road to the Department of Interior) National Historic Trail (NHT) along Old Buckman Road (County Road [CR] 77) and the creation of a multi-use trail along CR 62 and Caja del Rio Road (Figure 1). The Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP), along with a local match, will provide the funds for the El Camino Trail (Project). CFLHD, BLM, and USFS are Cooperating Agencies in the development of this project. The new trail would link the oldest segment of El Camino Real to the Santa Fe River Greenway Trail. The Project would introduce a dedicated non-motorized corridor for pedestrians, bicycles, and equestrians to facilitate safe access to federal lands. There are two segments of the proposed action, totaling approximately 15.2 miles of trail. The Project would be located entirely in Santa Fe County on Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Santa Fe National Forest Service (SFNF), or Santa Fe County right-of-way. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, requires federal agencies to ensure that their actions (authorized, funded, or carried out) are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered, threatened, candidate, and proposed species; or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical habitats. The purpose of this Biological Assessment and Evaluation (BAE) is to present the analysis and determination of impacts of the El Camino Trail project on state- and federally listed species that may occur in the project area. Identification of species evaluated in this BAE originates from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on-line evaluation tool—the Information, Planning and Conservation System (IPaC), BLM Sensitive species list, Santa Fe National Forest Service Region 3 sensitive species, and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish state-listed species. Forest Service policy requires that a review of programs and activities, through an effects analysis document (referred to in current Forest Service policy as a biological evaluation or BE), be conducted to determine their potential effect on Regional Forester-designated sensitive species (FSM 2670.3). Preparation of a BE as part of the NEPA process ensures that sensitive species receive full consideration in the decision-making process. The 1982 Planning Rule 36 CFR 219.19(a)(6) related to Management Indicator Species (MIS) requires the Forest Service to produce a unique list of species to represent Forest communities or ecosystems. These species and the ecosystems in which they represent must be considered for each project to evaluate consistency with the Forest Plan. 1 Biological Assessment and Evaluation for El Camino Trail Figure 1. Project Location/Proposed Action 2 Biological Assessment and Evaluation for El Camino Trail 2.0 PURPOSE AND NEED CFLHD, BLM, and USFS have a similar