Stony Creek and Montecito Sequoia Resorts Biological Assessment and Biological Evaluation for Sequoia National Forest Hume Lake Ranger District Improvement and Expansion Projects within Giant Sequoia National Monument Tulare County, California December 5, 2019 Prepared for: United States Forest Service Sequoia National Forest Hume Lake District District Ranger: Jeremy Dorsey 35860 East Kings Canyon Road Dunlap, CA 93621 Prepared by: Michelle McKenzie and Prairie Moore Natural Resources Management Corporation 1434 Third Street Eureka, CA 95501 Table of Contents I. Summary of Findings and Conclusions ........................................................................................ 1 II. Introduction, Background, and Project Understanding .............................................................. 2 Project Locations ......................................................................................................................... 3 Project Descriptions .................................................................................................................. 10 Biological Descriptions .............................................................................................................. 16 III. Methods ................................................................................................................................... 17 Pre-Field Review ........................................................................................................................ 17 Field Survey ............................................................................................................................... 24 IV. Results and Discussion ............................................................................................................. 25 Wildlife: Summary of Findings .................................................................................................. 26 Survey Results ........................................................................................................................... 26 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 26 Species Accounts ....................................................................................................................... 44 Plant: Summary of Findings .......................................................................................................... 49 Survey Results ........................................................................................................................... 49 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 49 Cumulative Effects..................................................................................................................... 57 Management Recommendations .............................................................................................. 57 V. References Cited ....................................................................................................................... 58 Appendix A. Photographs from Site Visit Appendix B. USFWS Consultation T&E Species Lists for Project Areas Appendix C. USFWS Scoping Letter Response Appendix D. Hume Lake Ranger District Amphibian Survey, August 19, 2019 Figures Figure 1. Vicinity of Montecito Sequoia and Stony Creek Resorts, Tulare County, CA .................. 5 Figure 2. Project map for Montecito Sequoia Resort (Orthographic) ............................................ 6 Figure 3. Project map for Montecito Sequoia Resort (Topographic) ............................................. 7 Figure 4. Project map for Stony Creek Resort (Orthographic) ....................................................... 8 Figure 5. Project map for Stony Creek Resort (Topographic) ......................................................... 9 Figure 6a,b. Site plan for Montecito Sequoia Resort (proposed buildings dark boxes) ............... 12 Figure 7. Site plan for Stony Creek Resort (proposed building south, center) ............................. 15 Figure 8. The CNDDB records for wildlife, plants, and plant communities within a 1-mile radius of Montecito Sequoia Resort ........................................................................................................ 22 Figure 9. The CNDDB records for wildlife, plants, and plant communities within a 1-mile radius of Stony Creek Resort ................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 10. USFWS National Wetland Inventory polygons, Montecito Sequoia Resort ................ 32 Tables Table 1. CNDDB list of potential special status wildlife in the Muir Grove nine-quad area and Forest Service Sensitive (FSS) species listed for Sequoia National Forest .................................... 18 Table 2. CNDDB California spotted owl detections for ACs nearest the project areas ................ 20 Table 3. CNPS Rare Plant Rank (CNPR) 1-4 plants and CNDDB (SRANK) special status plants in the Muir Grove nine-quad area .................................................................................................... 24 Table 4. Special status wildlife species, species potentially present in the project area, and potential impacts .......................................................................................................................... 36 Table 5. Wildlife species detected at Montecito Sequoia and Stony Creek Resorts during site visit October 16, 2018 ................................................................................................................... 45 Table 6. Summary of Findings for Special Status Plant Species .................................................... 53 I. Summary of Findings and Conclusions The projects at Montecito Sequoia and Stony Creek Resorts, located in Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument (Figure 1) involve improving aging infrastructure, updating guest services and expanding accommodations. Montecito Sequoia projects include the installation of an outdoor kitchen facility, gazebo, and associated bathhouse, as well as 2 new four-plex cabins, the rebuilding of Marmot Lodge due to disrepair, and the rebuilding of Lakeside Fair cabin that was destroyed by gas leak this past winter (Figures 2 and 3). Stony Creek projects include the construction of a bathhouse within the existing footprint of the parking lot, and the removal of a landscape container from the front of the lodge to be replaced by an ADA compliant access ramp (Figures 4 and 5). The resorts operate under a special use permit authorized by the Hume Lake Ranger District in Tulare County, California. The project footprints for both locations are within the special use permit boundary for the existing resorts. Located on the General’s Highway between the popular destinations of Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park and Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park, these projects are aimed at improving visitors experience at the year-round resort and summer family camp, Montecito Sequoia, and the seasonal Stony Creek Resort. This Biological Assessment reviewed the projects at Montecito Sequoia and Stony Creek Resorts to determine to what extent wildlife species currently listed, proposed for listing, or for whom habitat was present, would be affected. The projects were also reviewed for the potential to impact sensitive plant species and or natural communities. See Table 1 for a list of reviewed wildlife species, and Table 3 for plant species. No special status wildlife species were detected during the site visit. During the October visit, one desiccated and one predated unidentified frog species were found in the wetland adjacent to Lake Homavalo, and appeared to be the same species based on size alone. According to the USFWS, Lake Homavalo is in the range of the northern mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), a Federally Endangered species, although only historic records exist for this species in the area. The Hume Ranger District Biologist suggested these deceased frogs were likely non- native American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus); a subsequent survey conducted by the biologist confirmed their continued persistence at Lake Homavalo (Appendix D). Special status and additional species of interest, and the potential for project impacts, are presented in Table 4. Species are considered on a case-by-case basis as to the project’s affect based on considerations such as home range, habitat and sensitivity to disturbance. None of these species are expected to experience direct or indirect effects. All species detected during the survey are listed in Table 5. Species potentially affected by these projects are discussed in Species Accounts. Biological Assessment Natural Resources Management Corporation 1 Stony Creek and Montecito Sequoia Resorts Improvement Project December 5, 2019 No special status plants species were observed during the site visit. Standards and guidelines within the Giant Sequoia National Monument (GSNM) Management Plan requires that special aquatic features such as lakes, wet meadows and wetlands receive a protective buffer of 300 feet from the edge of the feature or riparian vegetation, whichever is greater (USDA 2012). There is wetland and riparian vegetation present on the north and northwest shores of Lake Homavalo, and all activities related to improvement projects