Arkansas Traveler 100 SPU Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District Ouachita National Forest _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION (with PETS Checklist) of Arkansas Traveler 100 SPU Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District Ouachita National Forest Perry and Saline Counties, Arkansas by Sarah Thompson, MS Wildlife Biologist Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District 8607 Hwy 7 N Jessieville, AR 71913 501-984-5313(voice) 501-984-6253 (fax) [email protected] October 2014 October 2014 1 Arkansas Traveler 100 SPU Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District Ouachita National Forest _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Project Area Description and Location The Forest Service proposes to renew an existing special use permit to Arkansas Traveler 100 for a 100 mile endurance run on open National Forest Roads and trails. The recreation event will take place on the Winona Ranger District the first and second week of October each year. The special use permit will be renewed for five years. Special Habitat Designations There are no designations of “critical habitat” (Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) or “essential habitat” (Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service) within, adjacent to, or affected by this Project Area. Critical habitats are those areas designated as critical by the Secretary of the Interior or Commerce, for the survival and recovery of (federally) listed species. Essential habitats are those areas designated by a Regional Forester as possessing the same characteristics as critical habitat without having been declared critical habitat by the Secretary of Interior or Commerce. Essential habitats are those necessary to meet recovery objectives for endangered, threatened and proposed species and those necessary to maintain viable populations of sensitive species. Regional Forester’s Sensitive Species List (PETS Checklist) The Regional Forester’s Sensitive Species List for the Ouachita National Forest (USDA- Forest Service 2007a) is composed of 81 species of plants and animals known to occur or that may occur on Forest Service lands and for which there is a viability concern. This list is all inclusive and represents plants and animals federally listed by the United State Fish and Wildlife Service as Proposed, Endangered or Threatened and those designated as Sensitive species by the Forest Service (PETS). Of these 81 species, 10 are federally designated as Endangered, 4 are federally designated as Threatened, 1 is federally designated Proposed, and 66 are Forest Service designated as Sensitive. The Forest Service is to ensure that approved projects do not result in a loss of viability or create significant trends toward Federal listing of any Sensitive species. Detailed information regarding Forest Service Sensitive Species can be found in the Forest Service Manual, Chapter 2670 – Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants and Animals. Purpose, Need and Objectives of the Biological Evaluation The purpose of this Biological Evaluation (BE) is to evaluate if the proposed permit renewal and associated activities will affect any PETS species and is performed as part of the site-specific analysis. This discussion of effects upon PETS species and/or their habitats is needed to provide useful information to decision makers in the careful selection of activities to accomplish goals and achieve desired future conditions with overall objectives of maintaining wildlife, fish and plant populations and diversity of habitats. Discussion of Proposed Activities The proposed endurance run takes place on existing open roads within the Winona RD. Because of this, there will be no effects to any species or their habitat caused by this special use authorization. October 2014 2 Arkansas Traveler 100 SPU Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District Ouachita National Forest _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Protective Measures Protective measures have been set forth in a variety of guiding documents and correspondence including the Revised Land and Resource Management Plan for the Ouachita National Forest (USDA- Forest Service 2005a), associated documents including the Final Environmental Impact Statement (USDA-Forest Service 2005b), Biological Assessment (USDA-Forest Service 2005c), the corresponding Concurrence Letter issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service 2005a) regarding eight federally listed species, and the Programmatic Biological Opinion for the American Burying Beetle (USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service 2005b). An example of a protective measure established in the Revised Forest Plan and applied at the site specific level is the establishment of 30-foot and 100-foot Streamside Management Areas (SMAs) either side of intermittent and perennial streams, respectively. These areas are established to protect aquatic environments and associated plant and animal species (Management Area 9). In addition, strict operating guidelines are included as part of timber harvest and related silvicultural contracts and are administered and enforced on-the-ground by a Timber Sale Administrator, Contracting Officer’s Representative, and/or Inspectors. Additional protective measures and more detailed information are outlined in the Project Decision Memo. Project Coordination-District Level The District Biologist has coordinated with the recreation Forester/ORA to ensure that participants will remain on existing roads. Forest Level Consultation History with the U.S. Department of the Interior – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service In accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and pursuant to Section 7 of said Act, Formal Consultation was requested by the Acting Regional Forester in a letter (dated 9 August 2005) to the Arkansas Field Supervisor of the United States Department of Interior – Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the Biological Assessment of the Revised Forest Plan (USDA-Forest Service 2005c). The letter requested Formal Consultation based on the finding of “likely to adversely affect” for American Burying Beetle (ABB) due to proposed ground disturbing activities. The Biological Assessment also conveyed “not likely to adversely affect” findings for Leopard darter (Percina pantheria), Leopard darter critical habitat, harperella (Ptilimnium nodosum), Arkansas fatmucket mussel (Lampsilis powellii), scaleshell mussel (Leptodea leptodon), Ouachita rock-pocketbook mussel (Arkansia wheeleri), Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). In response to this request for Formal Consultation the USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service submitted a transmittal letter (dated 17 August 2005) accepting the request. The letter stated that a Biological Opinion would be prepared assessing the effects of Revised Forest Plan implementation on the ABB. The transmittal letter also concurred with the “not likely to adversely affect” finding for Leopard darter, Leopard darter critical habitat, harperella, Arkansas fatmucket mussel, Scaleshell mussel, Ouachita rock-pocketbook mussel, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bald eagle and Indiana bat (USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service 2005a). October 2014 3 Arkansas Traveler 100 SPU Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District Ouachita National Forest _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On 22 September 2005 the USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service provided the Acting Regional Forester the Service’s Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO) on the Revised Forest Plan addressing the potential impacts to the ABB (USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service 2005b). The PBO concluded that after review of the current status of ABB, the environmental baseline for the action area, the effects of the proposed action, and the cumulative effects, that the Revised Forest Plan, as proposed, is “not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of ABB across its entire range”. The PBO also provide terms and conditions for incidental take and concluded that the “[level of anticipated take is not likely to result in jeopardy to the species or destruction or adverse modification of [habitat] critical]” to the ABB (USDI- Fish and Wildlife Service 2005b). Issuance of the PBO by the USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service concluded all Formal Consultation on the Revised Forest Plan as proposed by the Ouachita National Forest. The ‘action area” described in the PBO is designated the “American Burying Beetle Area” (ABBA) which occurs in portions of Logan, Scott, Sebastian and Yell counties in western Arkansas and LeFlore and McCurtain counties in eastern Oklahoma. The ABBA is the area from which