HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT

Transcription

1 HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT PREPARED BY: JULY 2012

2 HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT ALABAMA POWER COMPANY BIRMINGHAM, AL TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY SPECIES AND HABITAT RESULTS AND DISCUSSION LITERATURE CITED...3 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 HOLT PROJECT BOUNDARY AND TERRESTRIAL SURVEY AREA...3 i

3 1.0 INTRODUCTION HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT On June 18 and July 3, 2012, Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) Environmental Affairs personnel conducted a terrestrial species survey of the entire Holt Project Boundary, in order to partially fulfill one of the relicensing study plans for the Holt Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 2203) (Project). The objective of the survey was to determine the presence of rare, threatened or endangered (RTE) species and/or essential habitat for those species within the Project Boundary. The Holt Preliminary Application Document (PAD) identified three terrestrial species present in Tuscaloosa County: the candidate species white fringeless orchid (Platanthera integrilabia), the bald eagle 1 (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) (Picoides borealis). Alabama Power focused their survey on these three species. 2.0 METHODOLOGY The survey area included the transmission line Holt transmission line corridor and other lands within the Project Boundary (Figure 1). The survey was accomplished by walking all of the lands located within the Project Boundary and performing a visual inspection for the appropriate habitat for each species or for the actual presence of individuals of the three species. 3.0 SPECIES AND HABITAT The white fringeless orchid, native to the southeastern and south central United States, generally blooms from late July to early September, although flowers can be seen as early as June in the southern part of its range, including Alabama. It is usually found in flat, boggy areas at the head of streams or seepage slopes. The plant prefers partial shade and is often found in association with Sphagnum species (Pistrang, 2012; Shea, 1992). Bald eagles may be found throughout North America, typically around water where they feed primarily on fish and scavenge carrion. The species thrives around bodies of water where 1 Protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 1

4 adequate food exists and human disturbance is limited. Eagles nest in large trees near water and typically use the same nest for several years, making repairs to it annually. No critical habitat has been designated for this species (DeGraff and Rudis, 1986). The RCW is endemic to open, mature, and old growth pine ecosystems in the southeastern United States. Suitable nesting habitat generally consists of open pine forests and savannahs with large, older pines and minimal hardwood mid-story or over-story. Living trees, especially older trees that are susceptible to red-heart disease making them more easily excavated, provide the RCW s preferred nesting cavities. Suitable foraging habitat consists of open-canopy mature pine forests with low densities of small pines, little mid-story vegetation, limited hardwood overstory, and abundant bunchgrass and forb groundcover (USFWS, 2003). 4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The survey area includes two types of terrestrial habitats transmission line and wooded upland area near the overlook. The transmission line consists primarily of upland vegetation through pastures and rolling hills with 15 to 35 degree slopes. It also crosses Hurricane Creek and an unnamed tributary of the Black Warrior River located 0.1 miles west of the Holt Dam Hydroelectric Powerhouse. The upland area is dominated by planted loblolly pine with interspersed hardwoods, Virginia pine, and other common vegetation. The common vegetation found in both areas includes muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), greenbrier (Smilax auriculata), trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and water oak (Quercus nigra). No white fringeless orchids were found during the survey. Although it could be slightly early for the orchids to be in flower (and therefore more conspicuous), no habitat that was close to appropriate for the species was found. In addition, there were no eagle nests, eagles, RCWs, nor cavity trees observed during the survey. In conclusion, there were no RTE species or their essential habitat observed in the terrestrial Project Boundary of the Holt Project. 2

5 FIGURE 1 HOLT PROJECT BOUNDARY AND TERRESTRIAL SURVEY AREA 5.0 LITERATURE CITED DeGraff, R.M., and D.D. Rudis New England Wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. Gen. Tech. Report NE-108. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, PA. Pistrang, M White Fringeless Orchid (PLATANTHERA INTEGRILABIA). [Online] URL week/platanthera_integrilabia.shtml. Accessed June 19, Shea, M Status Survey Report on Platanthera integrilabia. Technical Report to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Asheville, North Carolina. United States Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery plan for the red-cockaded woodpecker(picoides borealis): second revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, A. 296 PP. 3