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Home My WebLink AboutSuWa223sec10-19ptAAlaska Resources Library & Information Services Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Document ARLIS Uniform Cover Page Title: Evaluation of wildlife habitat use, Study plan Section 10.19 : Initial study report -- Part A: Sections 1-6, 8-9 SuWa 223 Author(s) – Personal: Author(s) – Corporate: ABR, Inc.-Environmental Research & Services AEA-identified category, if specified: Initial study report AEA-identified series, if specified: Series (ARLIS-assigned report number): Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project document number 223 Existing numbers on document: Published by: [Anchorage : Alaska Energy Authority, 2014] Date published: June 2014 Published for: Alaska Energy Authority Date or date range of report: Volume and/or Part numbers: Final or Draft status, as indicated: Document type: Pagination: ii, 4 p. Related work(s): The following parts of Section 10.19 appear in separate files: Part A ; Part B ; Part C. Pages added/changed by ARLIS: Notes: All reports in the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Document series include an ARLIS- produced cover page and an ARLIS-assigned number for uniformity and citability. All reports are posted online at http://www.arlis.org/resources/susitna-watana/ Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 14241) Evaluation of Wildlife Habitat Use Study Plan Section 10.19 Initial Study Report Part A: Sections 1-6, 8-9 Prepared for Alaska Energy Authority Prepared by ABR, Inc.—Environmental Research & Services June 2014 INITIAL STUDY REPORT EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT USE STUDY (10.19) Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Alaska Energy Authority FERC Project No. 14241 Part A - Page i June 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 2. Study Objectives................................................................................................................ 1 3. Study Area ......................................................................................................................... 2 4. Methods and Variances in 2013 ....................................................................................... 2 5. Results ................................................................................................................................ 2 6. Discussion........................................................................................................................... 2 7. Completing the Study ....................................................................................................... 3 8. Literature Cited ................................................................................................................ 3 9. Figures ................................................................................................................................ 4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3-1. Study Area for Evaluation of Wildlife Habitat Use. The Study Area is a Combination of the Wildlife Habitat Mapping Areas from the Vegetation and Habitat Mapping Study (Study 11.5) and the Riparian Vegetation Study (Study 11.6). .......................................... 4 INITIAL STUDY REPORT EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT USE STUDY (10.19) Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Alaska Energy Authority FERC Project No. 14241 Part A - Page ii June 2014 LIST OF ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND DEFINITIONS Abbreviation Definition AEA Alaska Energy Authority CFR Code of Federal Regulations FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ILP Integrated Licensing Process ISR Initial Study Report Project Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project RSP Revised Study Plan SPD Study Plan Determination INITIAL STUDY REPORT EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT USE STUDY (10.19) Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Alaska Energy Authority FERC Project No. 14241 Part A - Page 1 June 2014 1. INTRODUCTION On December 14, 2012, Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) its Revised Study Plan (RSP) for the Susitna Watana Hydroelectric Project No. 14241 (Project), which included 58 individual study plans (AEA 2012). Section 10.19 of the RSP described the Evaluation of Wildlife Habitat Use Study. This office-based study focuses on analyzing both existing information on wildlife habitat use in Alaska (e.g., from the scientific literature) and new, Project-specific information on wildlife habitat use derived from survey data to be collected for the Project (see Sections 10.5 to 10.18). This habitat-use information will be used to systematically evaluate the use of the specific wildlife habitat types being mapped for the Project (see Section 11.5). In this study, categorical habitat values will be determined for each mapped habitat type and each wildlife species of concern to be assessed for impacts during the FERC licensing process. RSP 10.19 provided goals, objectives, and proposed methods for data collection regarding wildlife habitat use. On February 1, 2013, FERC staff issued its study plan determination (February 1 SPD) for 44 of the 58 studies, approving 31 studies as filed and 13 with modifications. RSP Section 10.19 was one of the 31 studies approved with no modifications. Following the first study season, FERC’s regulations for the Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) require AEA to “prepare and file with the Commission an initial study report describing its overall progress in implementing the study plan and schedule and the data collected, including an explanation of any variance from the study plan and schedule.” (18 CFR 5.15(c)(1)) This Initial Study Report (ISR) on Evaluation of Wildlife Habitat Use Study has been prepared in accordance with FERC’s ILP regulations and details AEA’s status in implementing the study, as set forth in the FERC-approved RSP (referred to herein as the “Study Plan”). 2. STUDY OBJECTIVES The goal of the study is to provide Project-specific habitat evaluation information for birds, mammals, and amphibians to facilitate quantitative assessments of the impacts on wildlife habitats from development of the proposed Project. The wildlife habitat evaluation has two fundamental objectives: • Use Project-specific survey data and the scientific literature to determine local habitat associations for those wildlife species occurring in the Project area that are of conservation, management, cultural, or ecological concern and that are specific to the wildlife habitat types to be mapped in the Project area. • Categorically rank habitat values for each wildlife species of concern for each of the wildlife habitat types that will be mapped in the Project area. INITIAL STUDY REPORT EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT USE STUDY (10.19) Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Alaska Energy Authority FERC Project No. 14241 Part A - Page 2 June 2014 3. STUDY AREA The wildlife habitat evaluation study area will be identical to the area mapped for wildlife habitats in the Upper and Middle Susitna Basin [Wetland Mapping Study (Study 11.5)], plus the area downstream of the proposed Project dam site to be mapped for riparian wildlife habitats [Riparian Vegetation Study Downstream of the Proposed Susitna-Watana Dam (Study 11.6)]. These two areas overlap between the Project dam site and Gold Creek (Figure 3-1), but wildlife habitats in that section of the Susitna River floodplain will be mapped only in the Riparian Vegetation Study Downstream of the Proposed Susitna-Watana Dam (Study 11.6). The wildlife habitat evaluation study area (Figure 3-1) includes a 4-mile buffer surrounding those areas in the Upper and Middle Susitna Basin that could be directly affected by Project construction and operations (the proposed Watana Reservoir, the Project dam site and associated infrastructure areas, and the three alternative Susitna-Watana Transmission Line/Road corridors) (see Study 11.5). The portion of the study area along the Susitna River downstream of the Project dam site includes the width of the active floodplain, as represented by the extent of riverine physiography (see Study 11.6). The downstream extent of the area to be mapped for riparian wildlife habitats extends to PRM 29.5 (see Study 11.6). 4. METHODS AND VARIANCES IN 2013 This study was not implemented in 2013. The study will be fully completed in the next study season. Deferring the entire study to the next study season will meet the Study Plan objectives by initiating work only after completion of the two mapping studies upon which this study depends: the Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat Mapping Study in the Upper and Middle Susitna Basin (Study 11.5) and the Riparian Vegetation Study Downstream of the Proposed Susitna-Watana Dam (Study 11.6), as contemplated by the Study Plan (RSP Section 10.19.4.2). 5. RESULTS There are no results to report for this study. 6. DISCUSSION As explained in the Study Plan (RSP Section 10.19.7), the habitat evaluation work to be conducted for this study is dependent upon information to be obtained from other ILP licensing studies, including the Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat Mapping Study in the Upper and Middle Susitna Basin (Study 11.5), the Riparian Vegetation Study Downstream of the Proposed Susitna- Watana Dam (Study 11.6), and habitat-use information for mammals, birds, and amphibians to be derived from each of the Project wildlife studies (Studies 10.5 through 10.18). Because these other studies are ongoing and not yet complete, this Study 10.19 has been deferred until the next study season. INITIAL STUDY REPORT EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT USE STUDY (10.19) Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Alaska Energy Authority FERC Project No. 14241 Part A - Page 3 June 2014 7. COMPLETING THE STUDY [Section 7 appears in the Part C section of this ISR.] 8. LITERATURE CITED AEA (Alaska Energy Authority). 2012. Revised Study Plan: Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project FERC Project No. 14241. December 2012. Prepared for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the Alaska Energy Authority, Anchorage, Alaska. http://www.susitna-watanahydro.org/study-plan. INITIAL STUDY REPORT EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT USE STUDY (10.19) Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project Alaska Energy Authority FERC Project No. 14241 Part A - Page 4 June 2014 9. FIGURES Figure 3-1. Study Area for Evaluation of Wildlife Habitat Use. The Study Area is a Combination of the Wildlife Habitat Mapping Areas from the Vegetation and Habitat Mapping Study (Study 11.5) and the Riparian Vegetation Study (Study 11.6).