3.6 Alaska Region Threatened, Endangered, Candidate, and Sensitive Species 3.6.1 Introduction
Federally listed threatened and endangered species are those plant and animal species formally listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or the National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS) under authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Under the Endangered Species Act, an endangered species is defined as one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is defined as one that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. USFWS defines a candidate species as a species for which there is on file sufficient information on biological vulnerability and threat(s) to support proposals as threatened or endangered. The Regional Forester of the USDA Forest Service has the authority to designate species as “sensitive.” Sensitive species are those plant and animal species for which population viability is a concern, as evidenced by significant current or predicted downward trends in population numbers or density, or significant current or predicted downward trends in habitat capability that would reduce a species’ existing distribution. Information on threatened, endangered, candidate, and sensitive species distributions and occurrences in the Project Area was obtained from agency contacts, a review of the available literature on these species in Southeast Alaska, and field review by interdisciplinary survey teams. A Biological Evaluation (BE) was completed to determine whether the Kuiu Timber Sale may affect federally listed or sensitive species. The document was prepared in accordance with legal requirements set under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (19 U.S.C. 1536 (c)), and follows standards established in Forest Service Manual (FSM) direction (2672.42) and the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 402). The BE is available from the Kuiu Timber Sale planning record. Findings are summarized below.
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3.6.2.1 Wildlife Species Alaska Region threatened endangered, candidate, and sensitive species wildlife species Table 3-41 displays the potential habitat for the Alaska Region’s threatened, endangered, candidate, and sensitive wildlife species within the Project Area. The Forest Service consulted with the
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USFWS and the NMFS as part of this analysis. No terrestrial species listed by the USFWS as threatened, endangered, or candidate species are known to occur within the Project Area. Table 3-41. Federally listed threatened, endangered, and candidate wildlife species, and Alaska Region sensitive wildlife species potential habitat within the Kuiu Timber Sale Project Area US Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Listed Species (T, E, & C) a
Potential Habitat in Project Area
Carried Forward For Analysis
Humpback Whale (Endangered)
NO
NO. Waters adjacent to the Project Area are outside known concentration areas. No effects are expected.
Snake River Sockeye (Endangered)
NO
NO. Habitat or individuals do not occur in Project Area. Compliance with TLMP standards and guidelines. No effects are expected.
Steller’s Sea Lion (Threatened)
NO
NO. There is no critical habitat within or near the Project Area. No effects are expected.
Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook (Threatened)
NO
NO. Habitat or individuals do not occur in Project Area. Compliance with TLMP standards and guidelines. No effects are expected.
Snake River Fall Chinook (Threatened)
NO
NO. Habitat or individuals do not occur in the Project Area. Compliance with TLMP standards and guidelines. No effects are expected.
Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) (Candidate)
NO
NO. Habitat or individuals do not occur in the Project Area.
Potential Habitat in Project Area
Carried Forward for Analysis
a
Alaska Region Sensitive Species Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
YES
YES.
Trumpeter Swan (Olor buccinator)
NO
NO. Habitat does not occur in the Project Area.
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
YES
NO. Habitat is not affected by proposed activities.
Peale’s Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus pealei)
NO
NO. Habitat does not occur in the Project Area.
a
Appendix J of the 1997 Forest Plan Final EIS includes a Biological Assessment for the humpback whale and Steller’s sea lion that are found in waters of Southeast Alaska. The Forest Plan includes appropriate standards and guidelines for management operations within the waters of Southeast Alaska when these species could be affected, such as in the vicinity of sea lion haul outs.
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3 Environment and Effects No federally listed threatened or endangered animal species would be adversely affected by the proposed actions. The Forest Service has prepared a complete Biological Evaluation for these species located in the Kuiu Timber Sale planning record (see the Wildlife Biological Evaluation available in the Kuiu Timber Sale planning record for more information). Sensitive Species The northern goshawk, trumpeter swan, and Peale’s peregrine falcon are Alaska Region sensitive species known to occur on Kuiu Island, but only the northern goshawk is documented to occur within the Project Area. There is no habitat within or near the Project Area for Peale’s peregrine falcon and while Kuiu Island has potential habitat for osprey, there is no evidence that this rare migrant to central Southeast Alaska uses Kuiu Island. The Forest Plan provides standards and guidelines for the protection of these species. If sensitive species’ nests are located, the Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines will be implemented. Northern Goshawk Field surveys have been conducted since the 1993 field season. There are ten known nesting locations on Kuiu Island. Of the ten nests located, two are within the Project Area. A nest site in the Rowan Bay drainage was first discovered in 1993. The area was surveyed in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2005 and no activity was observed during the surveys. In the 2004 and 2005 surveys, the nest structure was found to be in poor condition. A nest site in Security Bay was active starting in 1997. In 2003 and 2004 it was surveyed for goshawk nesting activity. In 2003 two plucks (varied thrush) were found in the vicinity, but no other evidence of goshawk activity was observed. In 2004 the nest was found to be unoccupied and in poor condition. The standards and guidelines applied to the management activities meet the requirements of the Forest Plan. The Rowan Bay nest is protected by a buffer of suitable habitat greater than 100 acres. The Security Bay nest does not require a buffer, as it is located within a medium old-growth habitat reserve and is protected from timber harvest activities.
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3.6.2.2 Plant Species Federally listed plant species In the State of Alaska, one plant species is federally listed: the endangered fern Polystichum aleuticum, known only from Adak Island in the Aleutians. No federally listed or proposed plant species are known or suspected to occur on Kuiu Island. Alaska Region listed sensitive plant species The Alaska Region lists 19 plant species as sensitive. There are three known and nine suspected plant species on the Petersburg Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest where the Project Area is located (Figure 1-1 and Table 3-42). More information is in the Plant Biological Evaluation located in the Kuiu Timber Sale planning record. All three of sensitive plant species found on the Petersburg Ranger District are known to occur on Kuiu Island. Loose-flowered bluegrass (Poa laxiflora) has been documented on several upper beaches in the wilderness areas 15-20 miles south of the Project Area and along one stream on north Kuiu Island within the Project Area. Davy mannagrass (Glyceria leptostachya) has been found along a stream bank near the Affleck Portage Trail, which is about 25 miles south of the Project Area. Wright filmy fern (Hymenophyllum wrightii) was found in Port Beauclerc during a wilderness plant survey in early July 2007. Port Beauclerc is about 30 miles south of the Project Area. Until 2006, the Wright filmy fern had only been found on two sites on Mitkof Island in the 1960s. In 2006, new information on how to locate the species led to finding the fern at three new sites on Mitkof. The fern was also documented on Kupreanof and Etolin Islands in the summer of 2006. As of spring 2007, no additional surveys for the fern were conducted in the Project Area using the new search knowledge. Sensitive plant surveys for the Project Area were conducted in 24 out of 38 of the proposed units during the summers of 2003 and 2004 within habitats and microsites where activities were planned and sensitive plants were most likely to be found. These sites included wet seeps, wet meadows, stream banks, and rocky areas. Also, dark, damp areas on downed logs and at the base of trees were searched for Wright filmy fern. Areas with limestone substrates were also targeted in the surveys. Approximately 50 percent of the proposed roads were also surveyed. Areas outside of the proposed units, but within the Project Area, were not surveyed except for the road leading to Units 402 and 403. One sensitive plant species was found, loose-flowered blue grass (Poa laxiflora), along a stream below Unit 307. The population consisted of about 25 individual plants on a rocky area near the edge
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3 Environment and Effects of the stream. The plants are within the riparian buffer on the stream so they are not within a proposed harvest unit. Unit 307 is proposed in Alternatives 3, 4 and 5. Rare plants were also recorded during the plant surveys. One rare plant, Botrichium multifidum, was found near the proposed road leading to Unit 419. The unit and road were later dropped due to high vulnerability karst in the area. No other rare plants were found. Table 3-42. Current Alaska Region sensitive plant species known or suspected to occur on Petersburg Ranger District Common Name
Scientific Name
Habitat description
Goose-grass sedge
Carex lenticularis var. dolia
Wet meadows, snowbed edges, and lakeshores in alpine areas
Edible thistle
Cirsium edule
Wet meadows (muskegs) and open forests
Davy mannagrass
Glyceria leptostachya
Wet areas, usually along streams, ponds, and lake margins
Wright filmy fern
Hymenophyllum wrightii
On the base of trees and rock outcrops in damp humid woods
Truncate quillwort
Isoetes truncata
Immersed in shallow freshwater pools
Calder lovage
Ligusticum calderi
Alpine and margins of subalpine and mixed conifer stands, on limestone
Bog orchid
Platanthera gracilis
Wet meadows and wet open habitats
Loose-flowered bluegrass
Poa laxiflora
Moist lowland woods, openforested meadows, upper beaches, along streams
Kamchatka alkali grass
Puccinellia kamtschatica
Wet areas and sea beaches
Unalaska mist-maid
Romanzoffia unalaschcensis
Rock outcrops, along stream banks, beach terraces, and open rocky areas
Queen Charlotte butterweed
Senecio moresbiensis
Alpine and subalpine with open, rocky, or boggy slopes, grassy talus slopes, or rocky heaths. Usually on limestone
Circumpolar starwort
Stellaria ruscifolia spp. aleutica
Moist, gravelly sites and along creeks in mountains
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3.6.3.1 Direct and Indirect Effects Wildlife Species There would be no effects on any threatened, endangered, or sensitive wildlife species other than the goshawk for any of the alternatives. For goshawk, proposed timber harvest and road building activities in the Project Area may impact individuals but are not likely to cause a trend toward federal listing or a threat to population viability. Goshawk nesting and foraging habitat would be reduced in all action alternatives. Indirect effects may include reduction of prey species habitat for goshawk as a result of old-growth habitat fragmentation. Application of Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines will ensure that no known goshawk nest sites would be disturbed by any of the proposed activities. Plant Species The proposed timber harvest activities in the Project Area would not have any direct effects on threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant species. One sensitive plant species, Loose-flowered bluegrass (Poa laxiflora), was found within the Project Area. It would not be directly affected by the proposed alternatives since it is within a riparian buffer along a stream that is outside any proposed harvest units or proposed road construction or reconstruction. The nearest proposed units are Units 307 and 308 which are across the stream and uphill from the site. These units are proposed in Alternatives 3, 4 and 5. Poa laxiflora populations have been documented in over 40 locations on the Tongass with over 30 of those populations located on Kuiu Island. Most populations are in the beach fringe buffer and Wilderness areas which would not be affected by timber harvest. Even if the population were indirectly affected by blowdown in a riparian buffer, individual plants may be adversely impacted, but the event is not likely to result in loss of viability or cause a trend to federal listing. Potential indirect effects would not significantly add to cumulative impacts for the species since it is relatively common and mostly protected from adverse activities due to its likely habitat. There is a possibility that undocumented sensitive species could be impacted by the proposed project. The project may adversely impact individual plants, but it is not likely to result in a loss of viability or cause a trend to federal listing. 3.6.3.2 Cumulative Effects The Catalog of Events for Kuiu Island was referenced to determine cumulative effects. There are no anticipated cumulative effects for all
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3 Environment and Effects listed wildlife and plant species, with the exception of goshawk, including the reasonably foreseeable future harvest of 482 acres from the remaining Crane and Rowan Mountain Timber Sales EIS units. With the harvest of the reasonably foreseeable future acres, the cumulative harvest within the Project Area would be between 31 percent (No-Action alternative) and 36 percent (Preferred Alternative). For goshawk, the Forest Plan projects that VCUs reaching a harvest level of at least 47 percent of their original productive old-growth (POG) may have an elevated risk of not sustaining goshawks in the VCU, unless at least 6,700 acres of POG remain in the VCU. As indicated above, the Project Area is still well below the 47 percent harvest level, and the while the cumulative effects of all activities within the Project Area may impact individuals, it is not expected to contribute to a trend towards federal listing or cause a loss of viability to the goshawk population.
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