Clay-DeWitt Line 3 & Clay-Teall Line 10 Rebuild & Reconductor Project Appendix S RTE Species and Survey Plan Table S-1: RTE Species Summary Table The following table identifies RTE species that have been reported in the vicinity of the Project and protection measures that will be used during construction. RTE Species Federal / State Listing Protection Measures Indiana Bat Endangered / Endangered No clearing of trees from April 1 to September 30 Northern Long Eared Bat Threatened / Threatened No clearing of trees from April 1 to September 30 Sedge Wren Not Listed / Threatened Conduct survey prior to starting work on Segments 1, 2, 3, 6 (western end) and 7 if work is to be conducted between 4/23 and 8/15. See Appendix S for survey plan. Bog Turtle Threatened / Endangered Worker awareness Eastern Massasauga Threatened / Endangered Worker awareness American Hart’s-tongue Fern Threatened / Threatened Worker awareness Eastern Praire Fringed Orchid Threatened / Endangered Worker awareness Small Whorled Pogonia Threatened / Endangered Worker awareness Short’s Sedge Not Listed / Endangered Worker awareness Swamp Smartweed Not Listed / Endangered Worker awareness Appendix S Survey Plan for Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) Clay-DeWitt Line 3 & Clay-Teall Line 10 Rebuild & Reconductor Project Onondaga County, New York PREPARED FOR: National Grid Environmental Services 300 Erie Boulevard West Syracuse, New York 13202 PREPARED BY: ESS Group, Inc. 10 Hemingway Drive, 2nd Floor East Providence, Rhode Island 02915 ESS Project No. N484-001 November 2017 www.essgroup.com TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Sedge Wren Habitat Preferences ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Sensitive Wildlife Areas .................................................................................................................... 2 2.0 TARGET SPECIES SURVEY ................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Coordination ..................................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 Reporting .......................................................................................................................................... 3 3.0 DISCOVERY OF TARGET SPECIES ..................................................................................................... 3 3.1 Discovery during Pre-Construction Survey ...................................................................................... 4 3.2 Discovery during Project Activities ................................................................................................... 4 3.3 Notification and Protective Measures ............................................................................................... 4 4.0 CONTACT LIST ...................................................................................................................................... 5 TABLES Table S-1 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species Summary Table FIGURES Figure 1 Flow of Procedures for Observation of Sedge Wren Figure 2 Proposed Sedge Wren Survey Areas Figure 3 Proposed Sedge Wren Survey Station Locations APPENDICES Appendix A Sedge Wren Fact Sheet Appendix B Field Survey Data Sheet © 2017 ESS Group, Inc. – This document or any part may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording without the express written consent of ESS Group, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.0 INTRODUCTION ESS Group, Inc. (ESS) has prepared this Survey Plan for Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) (the Plan) on behalf of Niagara Mohawk Corporation, doing business as National Grid (“National Grid”) for the construction of the Clay-DeWitt Line 3 & Clay-Teall Line 10 Rebuild & Reconductor Project (the Project) in Onondaga County, New York. An Article VII Application (Case No.15-T-0305) was filed with the New York State Public Service Commission for the Project in May 2015 and a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (CEC&PN) was issued in xxxxxx 2017. ESS consulted with federal and state agencies during both the preparation the Article VII Application (the Application) and the development of the Environmental Management and Construction Plan (EM&CP) in order to gather information regarding state or federally listed rare, threatened, or endangered (RTE) species in the Project Area. Agency consultation during the preparation of the Application resulted in the identification of two animal species and one plant species that could occur in the Project Area during construction: sedge wren (Cistothorus platensis), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), and Short’s sedge (Carex shortiana). In addition, suitable habitat for northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) may be present within the project area. To avoid impacts to the two bat species, National Grid has consulted with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), completed a desktop habitat assessment, and committed to complying with the recommended tree clearing time of year restriction. These measures are expected to avoid impacts to these species while they are potentially present in the Project Area. Suitable habitat for Short’s sedge may exist within and in the vicinity of the Project Area. According to the New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP), this species is associated with forested and shallow emergent marsh ecological communities (NYNHP 2017). Within the Project Area, these ecological communities occur along Segments 1, 2, 3, 6 (western portion only), and 7. The use of timber mats during construction in wetland areas, implementation of erosion and sedimentation controls, and other construction best management practices (BMPs) are expected to help minimize impacts to this species where it may occur within the Project Area. When feasible, construction activities in areas that may provide habitat for sedge wren will be scheduled to occur outside of the seasonal restriction for sedge wren, which based on correspondence with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) begins on April 23 and ends on August 15. This survey plan has been developed to avoid impacts to sedge wren in the event that construction activities take place during this seasonal restriction in areas that may provide habitat for sedge wren. The Plan describes the survey procedures that will be used prior to undertaking construction activities and the steps and measures that will be taken if sedge wren are identified during the pre-construction surveys or incidentally while construction is underway. 1.1 Sedge Wren Habitat Preferences As described in the attached species fact sheets (Appendix A), sedge wrens are a short-distance migratory bird species which breeds in the north-central United States and parts of south-central Canada. The species occurs in these areas only during the breeding season, and in the fall migrates to its wintering grounds in the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico. In New York, sedge wrens are primarily found in northern and western portions of the state, where they nest in wet meadows, fields, and marshes dominated by sedges and grasses. Sedge wrens are highly sensitive to alterations to water levels and vegetation structure in breeding habitats, and therefore exhibit low site fidelity to nesting sites. 1 Survey Plan for Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) November 2017 New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) Ecological Communities associated with sedge wren that are most likely to occur in or near the Project Area include successional old field, shallow emergent marsh, rich sloping fen, and medium fen. Other Ecological Communities associated with this species are boreal heath barrens, dwarf shrub bog, Great Lakes dunes, and inland salt marsh. 1.2 Sensitive Wildlife Areas As discussed in Section 1.0, National Grid will attempt to schedule construction activities in areas that may provide suitable habitat for sedge wren to occur outside of the seasonal restriction period for this species. In the event that it is not possible to schedule construction activities in this manner, National Grid will conduct species-specific surveys of those portions of the Project Area prior to the start of any construction activity in those areas. The portions of the ROW that will be surveyed for sedge wren prior to the start of construction have been determined through coordination with NYSDEC, and include Segments 1, 2, 3, 6 (western portion only), and 7 (Figure 2). Correspondence with the New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) indicates that sedge wren has been documented at the Airline Enterprises Airport, which is located near the intersection of Segments 1 and 7. 2.0 TARGET SPECIES SURVEY 2.1 Methodology Sedge wren survey methodologies have been developed based on correspondence with NYSDEC and are based on the Project Applicant Survey Protocol for State-listed Breeding Grassland Bird Species. Point count surveys will be used to determine the presence or absence of sedge wren in the Project ROW. Each survey point will be located in suitable