Final. Winter Wildlife Survey

Transcription

1 Final Wint Wildlif Suvy Mach 14, 2008

2 Swad Highway MP Road and Bidg Rhabilitation Pojct Final Wint Wildlif Suvy Tabl of ontnts 1.0 Intoduction Study Objctivs Pojct Aa Scop of Wo Mthods Rsults and Discussion onclusions Rfncs List of Figus Figu 1. Pojct Aa... 3 Figu 2. Moos Locations duing Wint Wildlif Suvys...8 Figu 3. Moos Bows Locations.9 List of Tabls Tabl 1. ommon and scintific nams of avian spcis obsvd in th pojct aa duing wint suvys, Novmb 2006 though Apil Tabl 2. ommon and scintific nams of mammal spcis obsvd in th pojct aa duing wint suvys, Novmb 2006 though Apil Tabl 3. Spcis obsvd, location and numbs of bids and mammals obsvd duing th wint suvys, Novmb 2006 though Apil i

3 Swad Highway MP Road and Bidg Rhabilitation Pojct Final Wint Wildlif Suvy 1.0 Intoduction This pot psnts th findings fom th 2006 and 2007 wint wildlif suvys conductd fo th Swad Highway Milpost MP) poposd pojct. Th wint wildlif suvys w conductd fom Novmb 1, 2006 to Apil 6, Th pincipal spcis of intst in th pojct aa duing th wint months a moos and main bids fo puposs of this pot, th tm main bid will f to sabids, sa ducs and shobids). 2.0 Study Objctivs Th pupos of th wint wildlif suvy was to chaactiz wildlif and habitat us in th pojct aa duing th wint months. Th suvys focusd on moos and main bids in th pojct aa but also documntd all mammal and bid obsvations. Spcial mphasis was placd on th Tunagain Am nasho and opn wat habitat within th pojct aa. Ths suvys w conductd in spons to souc agncy commnts gading th lac of infomation on main bid us of th Upp Tunagain Am duing wint months and moos habitat us of th coastal flats duing piods of dp snow. This suvy data will fill data gaps on th us of th Upp Tunagain Am by winting main bids, paticulaly thos that could b affctd by th constuction of a causway acoss th Tunagain Am, a cunt altnativ of this poposd pojct. Infomation obtaind fom ths suvys will b usd to valuat potntial impacts of th poposd pojct altnativs on wildlif and habitat in th pojct aa. 3.0 Pojct Aa Th poposd pojct aa is locatd at th southn bounday of th Municipality of Anchoag, appoximatly 30 to 40 mils south of th Anchoag Bowl. Th Swad Highway paallls th coastlin of Tunagain Am and cosss Glaci, Kn, Ptson, Twntymil Riv, Potag, Plac Riv, Ingam, and sval unnamd stams btwn milposts 75 and 90 Figu 1). Th pojct aa is nown fo mud flats, xtm tids, stong winds, and havy pcipitation. Th highway is locatd btwn th main wats of Tunagain Am and stp fostd slops and fshwat/bacish ponds. Th Swad Highway svs as th only oad connction btwn th Knai Pninsula and th st of th stat and also povids th sol sufac connction to Gidwood and Whitti. Th Swad Highway has havy tuc, bus, cational vhicl, and tail taffic. Th pojct aa is locatd within th Upp Tunagain Am, wh th lag vallys: th Twntymil, Potag, and Plac, mt. onsquntly, this intsction of th th vallys and th Potag Vally a considd to b an impotant coido fo mainland and pninsula mammal populations to tavl btwn th Knai Pninsula and Southcntal Alasa. Th Swad Highway tanscts this aa, and may stict o othwis influnc movmnt of wildlif, including moos, bas, lynx, wolvs and wolvins USDA Fost Svic 2004). Dp snow in th Twntymil, Plac, and Potag vallys in th wint foc moos down along th highway wh thy a 2

4 Poj ct A a Gla Vi g IN GIRDWO OD in H U G A H NAT L. KE NA I F OR E S T PRI N E WIL L IA M H U G A H NAT L. F OR E S T SOU ND P E NI N S UL A O l at t S v Ri mi l Local oad Mudflat MOA bounday Stat pa/natl. fost bounday Wtland Tw n t y m i l ontou 500 ft intval) Riv Val l y Y. HW m 79 Po ta This map psnts a concptual lvl of utility, dtail, and accuacy. Th infomation displayd h is fo planning puposs only. Bas infomation shown constituts data fom vaious fdal, stat, public, and pivat soucs. Ths maps a fo viw puposs only and a not intndd fo us in scuing pmits, dsign o fo constuction puposs. g F Ri v Val l y P o t ag a In g Gla ci Ri v 82 D AR EW S Highway nt y 84 F O R E S T Bgin Pojct Mil Pinting Dat: May 7, 2007 Pojction: Alasa Stat Plan Zon 4 Datum: NAD 83 HDR Alasa Soucs: MOA GIS, USGS, AK DOT, AK DNR, oo Inlt Kp Plac Riv P l ac an i t Val l y G Z:\ DOT&PF\ S wad Highway EIS\GIS\map_ docs\mxd\final\t ch pots\litatu viw\7 5-90_Poj ctaa_figu1.mxd 83 Raiload Tw Slat l mi l 85 H U G A H N A T I O N A L Milpost 86 MU NI IP KE AL NA IT Y IP OF EN AN IN SU H LA OR BO AG RO UG E H LEGEND n A R M K n 87 A L A S K A s o S aw 88 O F t TU R NA G A I N G U L F P 89 End Pojct O K 90 PROJET AR EA AN HOR AG E T ci PA R K LE. H UGAH STATE Ly o n PROJET AREA FIGURE 1

5 Swad Highway MP Road and Bidg Rhabilitation Pojct Final Wint Wildlif Suvy fquntly obsvd cossing th highway to bows on th abundant willows in th coastal flats. Up to 50 moos hav bn documntd bowsing in th willow flats on th noth sid of th Swad Highway fom Ingam to Potag aft a havy snowfall Bown 2006). 4.0 Scop of Wo Th wint wildlif suvys w conductd btwn Novmb 1, 2006 and Apil 6, Th suvys w conductd by Sina Bownl and Lynn Spnc of HDR Alasa, Inc. Ths suvys w conductd as pat of th nvionmntal baslin studis to suppot th National Envionmntal Policy Act pocss fo th poposd Swad Highway MP pojct. Th scop of wo fo th wint wildlif suvys includd th following tass: Rviwing litatu and agncy fils to collct infomation on wildlif us of th pojct aa duing th wint months. onducting wly suvys in th pojct aa fo wildlif focusing on iv mouths, Tunagain Am main wat, and coastal flats. onducting snow tac suvys to idntify mammal us in th pojct aa. ollcting infomation on main bid and moos obsvations mad incidntally by oth obsvs diving though th pojct aa. 5.0 Mthods HDR conductd wly suvys of th coastal flats, inttidal, nasho and opn wat habitats along th Tunagain Am fom milpost fom Novmb 1, 2006 though Apil 6, Th wint suvys consistd of two biologists slowly diving though th pojct aa and stopping at all tunouts along th Swad Highway wh obsvs hav a cla viw of Tunagain Am and th coastal flats. A spotting scop was usd to scan opn wat fo main bids and coastal flats fo moos. Main bids of paticula intst that may occu in th Upp Tunagain Am includ oc sandpip alidis ptilocnmis) and halquin duc Histionicus histionicus). Th oc sandpip is listd as a USFWS Bid of onsvation oncn that is nown to wint in lag numbs in th oo Inlt. Halquin ducs a a wint sidnt in nasho main wats of Pinc William Sound and a listd as a vulnabl spcis by th Alasa Natual Hitag Pogam 2008). All spcis obsvd duing th wint suvys w documntd. Fo ach bid o mammal obsvation th following data was collctd: spcis, numb of individuals, location milpost), distanc fom highway, diction of tavl, psnc of human activity snow machins, sis, tc), and bhavio. Oth vaiabls that w codd includd wath, tim, tid stag, and ic cov pcntags fo th Tunagain Am. Du to poo visibility in th pojct aa duing wint stoms, suvys w gnally not conductd in poo wath conditions. Obsvs conductd snow tac suvys to dscib mammal us in th pojct aa. Snow tacing can b a vy ffctiv mthod fo suvying wildlif populations and 4

6 Swad Highway MP Road and Bidg Rhabilitation Pojct Final Wint Wildlif Suvy collcting nw infomation on a spcis' distibution and habitat us. Th snow tac suvys w conductd aft fsh snow hous aft fsh snow) whn wildlif tacs a asily idntifid. Aas o landscap fatus that a typically associatd with wildlif oad cossings w documntd as was any oad illd wildlif. Locations that containd havy moos bows on willows and oth shubs o ts w documntd. All mammal sightings w codd onto a topogaphic map o codd with a GPS location. 6.0 Rsults and Discussion Th wint suvys w conductd on a wly basis fo a total of twnty-on suvy vnts fom Novmb 1, 2006 though Apil 6, 2007 fo a total of 80 suvy hous. Twnty-two spcis of bids w obsvd in th pojct aa duing th wint wildlif suvys Tabl 1). Bid spcis and numbs w low s blow) in th pojct aa duing th wint months compad to sping and fall suvy sults HDR Alasa 2007; HDR Alasa 2007a). Th ponds and watbodis in th pojct aa w icd ov duing th wint suvy which is a gnal wint condition.. At tims, th only opn wat was th main channl in Tunagain Am which was affctd by th twic daily tid cycls. Th w vy fw main ointd bid obsvations in th pojct aa duing th wint suvys. ommon and Rd-bastd mganss w obsvd in Tunagain Am and Potag on Novmb 1, 2006 and on mgans was obsvd flying towads Whitti on Fbuay 10, No oth main bids w obsvd in th pojct aa duing th wint suvys. Two Mallads and on Gn-wingd tal w obsvd in th Twntymil Riv on Novmb 1, No oth watbids w obsvd duing th wint suvys. Tunagain Am main channl suoundd by sa ic Bald agls w obsvd gulaly in th pojct aa ov th wint suvy piod. Most bald agl obsvations w of singl o paid agls; howv, on goup of 15 bald agls was obsvd fding on a oad-illd moos na MP 80.5 on Dcmb 14, Th only oth apto that was obsvd duing th wint suvys was a singl nothn goshaw in th Hmloc-Spuc fost adjacnt to Ingam on Dcmb 14, ommon avns and blac-billd magpis w common in th pojct aa duing th wint suvys. Sval lag flocs of sidnt songbids w obsvd in th pojct aa including common dpoll, whit-wingd cossbill, pin gosba, and pin sisin. Most of th songbid activity was obsvd in hmloc-spuc fost habitat wh th a abundant sd soucs fo songbids in th wint. Snow buntings w obsvd in th pojct aa on Mach 25 and 30. A nothn shi was obsvd on two occasions na MP 76 Tabl 3). 5

7 Swad Highway MP Road and Bidg Rhabilitation Pojct Final Wint Wildlif Suvy A total of svn mammal spcis w dtctd duing th wint suvys. Th most common mammals obsvd duing th wint suvys w moos and snowsho ha. A total of 70 moos w obsvd in th poposd Swad Highway MP pojct aa duing th wint suvys Figu 2). Th majoity of th moos obsvations w locatd btwn MP 75 and 82. Appoximatly 88% of all moos obsvd in th pojct aa w within.25 mils of th Swad Highway. Th majoity of moos w obsvd in opn tall scub-willow habitat that is common on th coastal flats in th Upp Tunagain Am. Moos numbs w highst duing Januay 2007 whn dp snow in th Twntymil, Plac and Potag vallys focd moos down along th coastal flats to bows on willow. In wints of nomal snowfall, moos in th Upp Tunagain Am gnally main high up along th Twntymil, Plac, and Potag iv dainags. Dp snow in th Twntymil, Plac, and Potag vallys foc moos down along th highway wh thy will coss th highway to bows on th abundant willows in th coastal flats in btwn MP 75 and 81. Ripaian willow stands can b citical wint foag fo moos in yas of polongd dp snowfall in this aa Sinnott 2006). Th was havy moos bows on willows in th opn tall scub-willow habitat along th flats and in th ipaian coidos adjacnt to th Plac Riv and Potag Figu 3). ow and juvnil moos in btwn aiload tacs and highway na MP 81 Havily tavld moos tails w obsvd in th hmloc-spuc habitat on th bluff wst of th mouth of Ingam. Th tail appad to tavl along th bluff and thn dop down into th coastal flats na th mouth of Ingam. Appoximatly 47 moos pllts goups w locatd in th hmloc-spuc fost tail adjacnt to Ingam duing a Mach 16 suvy. Snowsho ha signs w common in th coastal flats and hmloc-spuc fost habitat in th pojct aa. Signs of snowsho ha w documntd duing ach suvy vnt and includd tacs, tails, scat, bows on willow and dpssions at th bas of willows o oth shubs. Th opn tall scub-willow habitat in btwn MP 75 and 77 containd havily tavld snowsho ha tails that cisscossd th willow flats. Evidnc of snowsho ha bows on willow includd dbaing and bowsd willow twigs and buds. Sign of iv otts, coyots, d-bacd vol, d squil, shot-taild wasl, d fox and coyot w also obsvd duing th wint wildlif suvys. Riv ott tacs w obsvd na th mouth of th Twntymil Riv on Mach 16, oyot and d fox tacs w obsvd na oad-illd moos and on th coastal flats. Shot-taild 6

8 Swad Highway MP Road and Bidg Rhabilitation Pojct Final Wint Wildlif Suvy wasl and vol tacs w obsvd in th coastal flats. Rd squil tacs, tails and middns w vy common in hmloc-spuc fost habitat in th pojct aa. Sval oad-illd mammals w documntd in th pojct aa duing th wint suvys. Ths includ on moos at MP 80.5 on th ast sid of th highway in th pullout on Dcmb 14, 2006; on snowsho ha at MP 80.6 on Januay 10, 2007; and on moos at MP 85.3 on ast sid of highway on Fbuay 1, Wint cation in th Upp Tunagain Am may influnc wildlif distibution in th aa duing wint. Snow machins a abl to tavl many mils into th baccounty fom vaious accss points along th Swad highway in th pojct aa. Th w sval obsvations of snow machin and moos intactions in th pojct aa. Fo xampl, on Januay 10, 2007, six snow machins w obsvd opating in th willow flats na MP 76 noth sid of highway) wh fiv moos w bddd down in th snow. Th moos actd to th snow machins by standing up and waling towads Ingam away fom th snow machins. Th snow machins w opating in this aa fo about a half hou and mad on attmpt to gt clos to th moos but thn lft th aa. On Januay 20, 2007, th pullout at MP 75.5 was full of snow machin tails and snow machins opating in th Ingam Pond and Ingam aa. No snow machins w opating on th willow flats noth sid of highway) on this dat. Snow machins w also obsvd tavling on Potag, Plac Riv ovflow channl, and Plac Riv. On Mach 16 and 25, 2007, th pullouts at Potag, Plac, and Ingam w full of vhicls with tails fo snow machins and many vhicls w pad along th highway should. Tabl 1 includs a complt list of th common and scintific nams of all bids sightd duing th wint suvys. Tabl 2 includs a list of th common and scintific nams of mammal spcis obsvd in th pojct aa duing wint suvys. Spcis obsvd, location and numbs of bids and mammals obsvd duing th wint suvys is locatd in Tabl 3. 7

9 HW SK A Vi g AL YE in 87 K n 86 1/3/07; 6 1/20/07; 1 1/5/07; 2 att l 11/16/06; 2 S 2/10/07; 1 it 79 1/20/07; 4 4/6/07 ; 1 4/6/07; 2 Tunagain Pass Numbs of Moos dat; # of moos obsvd) Hi ll y Aa Enlagd This map psnts a concptual lvl of utility, dtail, and accuacy. Th infomation displayd h is fo planning puposs only. Bas infomation shown constituts data fom vaious fdal, stat, public, and pivat soucs. Ths maps a fo viw puposs only and a not intndd fo us in scuing pmits, dsign o fo constuction puposs. PO RTAGE 79 Po t ag PO R TA G F E IER RD Mil Pinting Dat: Mach 17, 2008 Pojction: Alasa Stat Plan Zon 4 Datum: NAD 83 HDR Alasa Soucs: MOA GIS, USGS, AK DOT, AK DNR, oo Inlt Kp Imagy: MOA 2006 an m ga I n Wtland MOA bounday 1/10/07 ; 1 2/24/07; 4 R WA 72 E S 74 Fost stat/natl. bounday 4-6 Mudflat 82 LA 78 1/20/07; 1. Y 73 W D H 75 Local oad 2-3 G Z:\07072 DOT&PF\41858 Swad Highway EIS\GIS\map_docs\mxd\final\moos\moos_locations_wintsuvy2.mxd 77 1/3/07; 3 1/10/07; 1 80 F O R E S T END WINTER SURVEY Highway 1 1/3/07; 2 N A T I O N A L Raiload 83 P la c Riv H U G A H. a m 76 b u l B 81 1/5/07; 1 1/10/07; 5 84 FIGURE 2 c Slat 2/10/07; 2 1/10/07; 9 1/20/07; 3 In g 75 t 3/25/07; 3 85 Milpost ontou 500 ft intval) G la ci R iv so n P l m il S aw 1/20/07; 2 Mt. Alpnglow LEGEND v 1/20/07; 3 Ri 88 F O R E S T 89 N A T I O N A L H U G A H A R M T U R N A G A I N 3/25/07; 2 1/20/07; 1 Baumann Bump m il 90 U P P E R Novmb 1, Apil 6, 2007 nt y 1/5/07; 2 Wildlif Suvys, Tw Y. SEWARD HW Moos Locations Duing Wint Y 3/30/07; 2 Mt. Alysa G I R D W O O D BEGIN WINTER SURVEY MP 91