Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... iii BIOLOGICAL OPINION ............................................................................................................... 1 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION ............................................................... 2 1.1 BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE ACTION ...................................................... 2 1.3 OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS .................................................................. 4 1.4 ACTION AREA ........................................................................................................... 7 1.5 ACTIVITIES NOT EVALUATED IN THIS BIOLOGICAL OPINION .................... 8 1.6 TABLES AND FIGURES FOR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION ......................... 9 2 STATUS OF THE SPECIES/CRITICAL HABITAT ....................................................... 10 2.1 SPECIES BACKGROUND & HABITAT ................................................................. 10 2.2 DISTRIBUTION AND RANGE ................................................................................ 13 2.3 STATUS AND THREATS ........................................................................................ 14 2.4 POPULATION DYNAMICS ..................................................................................... 17 2.5 ANALYSIS OF THE SPECIES/CRITICAL HABITAT LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED .......................................................................................................................... 22 2.6 TABLES AND FIGURES FOR STATUS OF THE SPECIES ................................. 24 3 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE..................................................................................... 31 4 EFFECTS OF THE ACTION ............................................................................................ 31 4.1 EFFECTS ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 32 4.2 REMOVAL FROM HUMAN STRUCTURES ......................................................... 33 4.3 TIMBER HARVEST .................................................................................................. 35 4.4 PRESCRIBED FIRE .................................................................................................. 43 4.5 FOREST CONVERSION........................................................................................... 48 4.6 WIND TURBINE OPERATION ............................................................................... 51 4.7 OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT MAY AFFECT THE NLEB ...................................... 57 4.8 CONSERVATION MEASURES IN THE 4(D) RULE ............................................. 64 4.9 SUMMARY OF IMPACTS OF INDIVIDUALS ...................................................... 65 4.10 IMPACTS TO POPULATIONS............................................................................. 66 4.11 INTERRELATED AND INTERDEPENDENT ACTIONS .................................. 68 4.12 TABLES AND FIGURES FOR EFFECTS OF THE ACTION ............................. 69 5 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ............................................................................................... 90 6 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 90 7 REINITIATION NOTICE ................................................................................................. 92 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................. 93 ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Endangered Species Act (Act) Biological Opinion (BO) addresses the effects to the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) resulting from the Service’s finalization of a special rule under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act. It also evaluates activities that the Service proposes to prohibit and except from take prohibitions under the final 4(d) rule. In the request for intra- Service consultation, the Service proposes a framework for streamlined section 7 consultation for other federal actions that may affect the NLEB and are consistent with the provisions of the 4(d) rule. This is a programmatic intra-Service consultation, because it addresses multiple actions on a program basis conducted under the umbrella of the final 4(d) rule. The Service has not designated or proposed critical habitat for the NLEB; therefore, this BO does not address effects to critical habitat. Because we anticipate continued NLEB declines as white-nose syndrome (WNS) spreads, this BO will cover the next 7 years that the disease is minimally expected to spread and impact the NLEB throughout its entire range. The Service will reinitiate consultation by the end of 2022 or earlier if the standard reinitiation criteria are triggered. The final rule addresses both purposeful take and incidental taking of the NLEB, with certain differences distinguished based on the occurrence of WNS as follows: • The final 4(d) rule prohibits purposeful take of NLEBs throughout the species’ range, except when (1) necessary to protect human health; (2) in instances of removal of NLEBs from human structures; or (3) the authorized capture and handling of NLEBs by individuals permitted to conduct these same activities for other bat species until May 3, 2016. • The final 4(d) rule does not prohibit incidental take resulting from otherwise lawful activities in areas not yet affected by WNS (i.e., areas outside of the WNS zone). • Within the WNS zone, the final 4(d) rule prohibits incidental take of NLEBs in their hibernacula, which may be caused by activities that disturb or disrupt hibernating individuals when they are present as well as the physical or other alteration of the hibernaculum’s entrance or environment when bats are not present. • Incidental take of NLEBs outside of hibernacula resulting from activities other than tree removal is not prohibited provided they do not result in the incidental take of NLEBs inside hibernacula. • Incidental take resulting from tree removal is prohibited if it: (1) occurs within 0.25 miles (0.4 km) of known NLEB hibernacula; or (2) cuts or destroys known, occupied maternity roost trees or any other trees within a 150-foot (45-meter) radius around the known, occupied maternity tree during the pup season (June 1 to July 31). • Removal of hazardous trees for the protection of human life and property is not prohibited. iii Federal agencies can rely upon the finding of this BO to fulfill their project-specific section 7(a)(2) responsibilities if they utilize the optional framework as described. The framework requires prior notification of activities that may affect the NLEB, along with a determination that the action would not cause prohibited incidental take. Service concurrence with the action agency determination is not required, but the Service may advise the action agency whether additional information indicates project-level consultation for the NLEB is required. If the Service does not respond within 30 days, the action agency may consider its project responsibilities under section 7(a)(2) with respect to the NLEB fulfilled through this programmatic BO. Action agencies must also report if actions deviate from the determination, along with the surveys of any surveys. The Action Area addressed in this BO includes the entire range of the NLEB within the United States, which includes all or portions of 37 States and the District of Columbia from Maine west to Montana, south to eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and east to South Carolina. Within the Action Area, the WNS zone currently includes all or most of the states within the species’ range except North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Status of the NLEB The disease WNS is the primary factor affecting the status of the NLEB, which has caused dramatic and rapid declines in abundance. Data support substantial declines in the Eastern range and portions of the Midwest range. We expect further declines as the disease continues to spread across the species’ range. NLEBs continue to be distributed across much of the historical range, but there are many gaps where bats are no longer detected or captured, and in other areas, their occurrence is sparse given local declines and extirpations. Although significant NLEB population declines have only been documented due to the spread of WNS, other sources of mortality could further diminish the species’ ability to persist as it experiences ongoing dramatic declines. We estimate that the range-wide population of NLEBs is comprised of about 6.5 million adults. This population estimate was calculated for the purposes of assessing the potential relative impact of activities contemplated in this BO, and it has limitations and a substantial amount of uncertainty. Effects of the Action The NLEB is likely to be affected by many activities which are not prohibited in the final 4(d) rule. We address the general effects of different activities, which we categorized into 7 general groups: (1) capture and handling of NLEBs by individuals with section 10(a)(1)(A) permits for other listed bats or State permits until May 3, 2016; (2) removal from human structures; (3) iv timber harvest; (4) prescribed fire; (5) forest conversion; (6) wind turbine operation; and (7) other activities that may affect the NLEB. The effects of