THREATENED AND ENDANGERED (T&E) PLANT SPECIES FIELD INSPECTION REPORT STATE OF NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION CASE NO. 11-T-0116 Long Island Power Authority – Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need Pursuant to Article VII of the Public Service Law to Increase the Design Capacity of the Existing 10.6 Mile Wildwood to Riverhead Electric Transmission Line from 69 kV to 138 kV Prepared For: PSEG-LI 999 Stewart Avenue Bethpage, NY 11714 Prepared By: Land Use Ecological Services, Inc. 570 Expressway Drive South, Ste. 2F Medford, NY 11763 Date: September 12, 2019 A. INTRODUCTION The Wildwood to Riverhead Electric Transmission Line 69 kV to 138 kV Upgrade Project (the Project) was certified by the New York State Public Service Commission under Article VII of the New York State Public Service Law (NYSPSC Case # 11-T-0116). The purpose of the Project is to increase the operating design capacity of the existing 10.6-mile Wildwood to Riverhead 69 kV line to 138 kV. The Project involves replacing the existing 69 kV insulators with larger insulators to allow for the existing line conductors to operate at 138 kV. The Project also proposes the addition of three new transmission line poles outside the existing Wildwood substation and the installation of approximately 900 feet of underground transmission line outside of the Wildwood substation (AKRF, 2014). All construction activities would be within the existing 100-foot wide right-of-way (ROW) with no planned tree removal or no new ROW needing to be obtained for the Project (AKRF, 2018). In accordance with the New York Public Service Commission’s Order Adopting the Terms of a Joint Proposal and Granting a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (issued on July 12, 2012, pg.14), field surveys for State-listed plant species and significant ecological communities were performed in mid-August 2017 (AKRF, 2018) and late August- early September, 2019 (this report). The plant species and ecological communities requiring field survey were based on a Public Service Enterprise Group Long Island (PSEGLI) request to the New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) for an update on threatened, endangered or species of special concern (T & E Species) that may occur in the vicinity of the planned project, prior to performance of the required field survey. The field survey reviewed the Project ROW for the species and significant natural communities identified in the NYNHP letter dated June 16, 2017 (Appendix 1). B. THREATENED AND ENDANGERED (T & E) PLANT & ANIMAL SPECIES AND SIGNIFICANT NATURAL COMMUNITIES LITTLE-LEAF TICK TREFOIL Little-leaf tick trefoil (Desmodium ciliare) is a New York State threatened member of the pea family (Fabaceae). Little-leaf tick trefoil is found in various dry, open habitats with sandy soil including oak openings, openings and roadsides within pitch pine forests, and sandy or rocky summit grasslands (NYNHP, 2019a). Little-leaf tick trefoil has a state rarity rank of S2S3, meaning that it is very vulnerable to disappearing from New York State or vulnerable to becoming imperiled in New York State. Little-leaf tick trefoil is in flower and most easily identified between mid-July and mid-September (NYNHP, 2019a). VELVETY BUSH CLOVER Velvety bush clover (Lespedeza stuevei) is a New York State threatened member of the pea family (Fabaceae). Velvety bush clover is found in disturbed habitats dominated by grasses and wildflowers within pitch pine-scrub oak barrens, pitch pine-oak woods and coastal oak-hickory woods (NYNHP, 2019b). Velvety bush clover has a state rarity rank of S2, meaning that it is threatened/imperiled in New York State due to rarity or is vulnerable to extirpation from New York State. Velvety bush clover is in flower and most easily identified between August and October (NYNHP, 2019b). LONG-BEAKED BEAK SEDGE Long-beaked beak sedge (Rhynchospora scirpoides) is a New York State rare member of the sedge family (Cyperaceae). Long-beaked beak sedge occurs predominately on mucky or sandy - 1 - soils on the margins of coastal plain ponds in pine barrens (NYNHP, 2019c). Long-beaked beak sedge has a state rarity rank of S2, meaning that it is threatened/imperiled in New York State due to rarity or is vulnerable to extirpation from the New York State. Long-beaked beak sedge fruits between July and October and is most easily identified in August and September (NYNHP, 2019c). EARLY FROSTWEED Early frostweed (Crocanthemum propinquum) is a New York State threatened member of the rock-rose family (Cistaceae). Early frostweed is found in dry sandy soils in openings within coastal oak-heath forests (NYNHP, 2019d). Early frostweed has a state rarity rank of S2, meaning that it is threatened/imperiled in New York State or is vulnerable to extirpation from New York State. Early frostweed is in flower between mid-May and late June, and fruits between mid-June and mid-October, and is most easily identified at this time (NYNHP, 2019d). STIFF TICK TREFOIL Stiff tick trefoil (Desmodium obtusum) is a New York State endangered member of the pea family (Fabaceae). Stiff tick trefoil is found in dry sandy woods and thickets, oak forest openings, and maritime grasslands and successional old fields (NYNHP, 2019e). Stiff tick trefoil has a New York State rarity rank of S1, meaning that it is endangered/critically imperiled in New York or is extremely vulnerable to extirpation from New York State. Stiff tick trefoil is in flower between August and mid-September and fruits between September and mid-October, and is most easily identified at this time (NYNHP, 2019e). EASTERN TIGER SALAMANDER Eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is a New York State endangered species that breeds in temporary and permanent freshwater pools and ponds in pine barrens and deciduous (red maple and oak spp.) and mixed pine-deciduous (pitch pine-oak spp.) forests (NYNHP, 2019f). Tiger salamanders spend the large majority of the year in the forests within 1,600 feet of their breeding ponds. During this time, adult tiger salamanders are found in surficial soils suitable for burrowing and in soils with extensive networks of burrows from small mammals. The migration of adult salamanders to the breeding ponds can occur anytime between November and April depending on weather and pond ice conditions. Juvenile salamanders migrate out of the ponds between late June and September (NYNHP, 2019f). NORTHERN LONG-EARED BAT The northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is a federally and state-listed threatened species. Northern long-eared bats can utilize a wide variety of upland woodland and forest types (NYNHP, 2019g), but are typically associated with mature interior forest (Carroll et al, 2002) and tend to avoid woodlands with significant edge habitat (Yates and Muzika, 2006). Northern long- eared bats roost during the day in dead or live trees under loose bark, or in cavities and crevices (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2013). Northern long-eared bats may also feed over a wide variety of forested/wooded habitats and adjacent and interspersed non-forested habitats such as wetlands, edges of agricultural fields, old fields, and pastures. Northern long-eared bats have been documented using pitch pine-oak forests of eastern Long Island as summer habitat. COASTAL BARRENS BUCKMOTH Coastal barrens buckmoth (Hemileuca maia ssp. 5) is a New York State-listed species of special concern. The larvae of the Coastal Barrens Buckmoth are restricted to scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia) as its primary foodplant. Therefore, this species inhabits ecological communities with abundant scrub oak including dwarf pine plains, pitch pine-oak-heath woodland, and pitch pine- scrub oak barrens (NYNHP, 2019h). - 2 - RED MAPLE-BLACKGUM SWAMP This ecological community is a maritime, coastal, or inland hardwood swamp that occurs in poorly drained depressions, sometimes in a narrow band between a stream and upland. Red maple (Acer rubrum) and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) are often codominant, or blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) may be the dominant tree. These swamps feature a well-developed shrub layer comprised of sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), and inkberry (Ilex glabra) among others. The herbaceous layer is characterized by cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), netted chain fern (Woodwardia areolata), and peat mosses (Sphagnum spp.) (Edinger et al, 2014) COASTAL PLAIN PONDSHORE This ecological community occurs on gently sloping, sandy or gravelly shores of oligotrophic coastal plain ponds with fluctuating water levels formed in glacial outwash plains. In New York State, coastal plain pond shores are restricted to coastal lowlands in Suffolk County. The dominant vegetation on the pond shore is typically grass like and includes spikerush (Eleocharis parvula), beakrush (Rhynchospora capitellata) and pipewort (Eriocaulon aquaticum) (NYNHP, 2019i). COASTAL OAK-HEATH FOREST This ecological community is a a low diversity, large patch to matrix, hardwood forest dominated by oaks and hickories with a well-developed short shrub layer dominated by huckleberries (Gaylussacia spp.) and blueberries (Vaccinium spp.). The forest is usually codominated by two or more species of oaks: scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), white oak (Q. alba) and black oak (Q. velutina). The herbaceous layer is very sparse; characteristic species are bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), and Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica). Coastal oak heath forests occur on dry, well-drained, sandy soils of glacial outwash plains or moraines of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. C. METHODOLOGY A desktop review of available data was performed prior to field surveys for the subject T&E species and significant natural communities. The following documents and databases were reviewed: 2018 AKRF report (AKRF, 2018), New York Natural Heritage Program correspondence dated June 16, 2017 (Appendix 1), and aerial imagery. A meander survey was conducted by WP Bowman, PhD of Land Use Ecological Services throughout the width of the Project ROW in late August-early September 2019.