Porcupine Vegetation and Road Management Project - Shasta Salamander Report - June 23, 2011

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1 The following summary includes the best available science for Shasta salamander (Hydromantes shastae, HYSH) in regards to its range and habitat to determine whether a project would trigger the need for pre-disturbance surveys under the Survey & Manage (SM) program of the 2001 SM ROD (USDA; USDI, 2001). Status Shasta salamander is a Region 5 Forest Service Sensitive species as well as a Survey & Manage species endemic to a small portion of the STNF ( Category A SM species in the 2001 SM ROD). As a resident around the Shasta Lake reservoir and with limestone quarries in its habitat, this amphibian species is also categorized as State Threatened in California. The SM amphibian survey protocol was published in 1999 (Olson et al. 1999) prior to the former, current 2001 SM ROD. Under this outdated provision from the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, Shasta salamander was a protection buffer species. The geographic extent of surveys in the protocol was developed under this outdated provision. Shasta salamander no longer has the protection buffer status in the 2001 SM ROD. In implementing the 2001 SM ROD for Category A species, surveys would be conducted prior to signing NEPA decisions for projects that would be habitat disturbing activities (called predisturbance or clearance surveys). Habitat-disturbing activities are defined as those disturbances likely to have a significant negative impact on the species habitat, its life cycle, microclimate, or life support requirements (2001 SM ROD on S&G page 22). The line officer should seek specialists recommendations to help determine the need for a survey based on site-specific information of the project (2001 SM ROD on S&G page 22). In making this determination, the line officer should consider: the probability of the species being present on the project site, as well as the probability that the project would cause a significant negative effect on the species habitat or, the persistence of the species at the site. These concepts are echoed in the older 1999 SM survey protocol: surveys are triggered when the project is expected to affect suitable habitat conditions for the target species and/or the animals themselves. Site managers are expected to have the greatest discretion with regard to this final criterion. The habitat conditions, range descriptions, and maps, described below, help to determine the need for a project pre-disturbance survey. Range and habitat Shasta salamander is a terrestrial salamander unique to a small area northeast of Redding (Olson et al. 1999) and endemic to the Shasta Lake area (Herman 2003). Shasta salamander has the smallest range of any Pacific Northwest amphibian (Herman 2003). The Shasta salamander s type locality is: "entrance to limestone caves at the edge of Flat Creek Road in the narrows of Low Pass Creek (0.7 miles east of Squaw Creek Road, 18.4 miles north and 15.3 miles east of Redding), Shasta County, California", USA (Frost 2011, Gorman et al. 1953). The primary habitat for Shasta salamander is limestone caves and rock outcrops and slopes that surround these limestone features around Shasta Lake, Shasta County - where the majority of this salamander s known sites are (Olson et al. 1999, Dept. Fish and Game 2008, California Herps 2011, Amphibia Web 2011). The limestone features provide summer refugia in the form of caves Shasta McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest - 1

2 and crevices that hold moisture for the salamander. Shasta salamanders most likely spend the normal hot, dry summers underground (in the caves, Herman 2003). Shasta salamander has been found at volcanic rock outcrops, albeit rarely (Lewendal 1995). It primarily requires moist environments of limestone, especially in summer (Dept. Fish and Game 2008). Its elevation range is from 300 to 910 meters (984 feet to 2,986 feet elevation; Frost 2011, Amphibia Web 2011). Known sites are located within a 17 mile radius of O Brien, California at Shasta Lake (Olson et al. 1999). As of March 2008, there are approximately 213 known locations distributed across wooded landscapes around Shasta Lake (Dept. Fish and Game 2008). To avoid adverse impacts on Shasta salamander, the California Department of Fish and Game recommends eliminating disturbance to and/or treatments on limestone outcrops during project planning to the extent feasible. The California Department of Fish and Game employs a project consultation boundary around Shasta Lake, which is larger than the salamander s known range, by including convex polygons and watershed boundaries (see map below). 2 - Shasta McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest

3 Map of the range and distribution of Shasta salamander (Amphibia Web 2011) Shasta McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest - 3

4 Map of known range of Shasta salamanders (shaded area; Herman 2003) Map of the range and distribution of Shasta salamander (California Herps 2011) 4 - Shasta McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest

5 Determination The Porcupine Vegetation and Road Management Project is located at least 25 miles northeast of the range of Shasta salamander. The Shasta Lake area is approximately 50 miles southwest of the project area. There is no limestone habitat in the project area. The closest limestone habitat and closest known site of Shasta salamander are approximately 25 miles from the project. The Forest Service corporate database, NRIS Wildlife, has no records of Shasta salamander in the project area. For these reasons, the line officer for the Porcupine project has determined that the probability of Shasta salamander being present in the project area is not likely; the probability that the project would cause a significant negative effect on the species habitat is negligible; and the project would not affect the persistence of the Shasta salamander at the project site. Therefore, no Survey and Manage surveys for Shasta salamander have occurred. Debbie Derby Wildlife Biologist 8/5/2011 References Amphibia Web Information on amphibian biology and conservation. Regents of the University of California. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Accessed: March 17, Bogener, D. J Shasta salamander, Hydromantes shastae; Shasta-Trinity National Forest: Comprehensive Species Management Plan and a species status report. Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Shasta Lake Ranger District. November California Herps A guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of California. Accessed: March 17, Dept. of Fish and Game, California Shasta Salamander Web Site. Interior Timberland Planning, Habitat Conservation Program, Northern Region. Redding, California. Accessed: March 17, Frost, D Amphibian Species of the World 5.5., an online reference. The American Museum of Natural History. Accessed: March 17, Gorman, J., and C. L. Camp A new cave species of salamander of the genus Hydromantes from California, with notes on habits and habitat. Copeia 1953: Herman, A.E Aspects of the Ecology of the Shasta salamander, Hydromantes shastae, near Samwell Cave, in Shasta County, California. Master s Thesis, Humboldt State University April Lewendal, P Habitat use by the Shasta salamander, Hydromantes shastae. Report for California Dept. of Fish and Game. October Shasta McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest - 5

6 Olson, D. H. and P.C. Lewendal Authors of the Survey Protocol for the Shasta salamander (Hydromantes shastae) Chapter III. In: Survey Protocols For Amphibians Under the Survey and Manage Provision of the Northwest Forest Plan. BLM, Oregon. Version 3.0. October USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management Record of Decision and Standards and Guidelines for Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measures Standard and Guidelines. Portland, Oregon: U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service), U.S. Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management). USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within The Range Of The Northern Spotted Owl; Standards And Guidelines For Management Of Habitat For Late-Successional And Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within The Range Of The Northern spotted owl. Portland, Oregon: U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service), U.S. Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management). Non Discrimination Statement The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA s TARGET Center at (202) (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C , or call (800) (voice) or (202) (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 6 - Shasta McCloud Management Unit Shasta-Trinity National Forest