20190331 Ver 2_Bridge 76 MANLAA concurrence tricolored_20221017

S TATE OF N ORTH C AROLINA
D EPARTMENTOF T RANSPORTATION

R OY C OOPER J.E RIC B OYETTE
G OVERNOR S ECRETARY
October 17, 2022
Ms. Lauren Wilson
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Asheville Field Office
160 Zillicoa Street
Asheville, NC 28801
Subject: Section 7 Concurrence Request for the Tricolored bat for the proposed
replacement of Bridge 81 on Hannah Ferry Road(SR 1926) in Rowan County. WBS No.
17BP.9.R.76.

Dear Ms. Wilson:

Please accept this Section 7 Concurrence Request for the Tricolored Bat for the proposed
replacement of Bridge 81 on Hannah Ferry Road (SR 1926) in Rowan County.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) proposes to replace Bridge
No. 81 over the Deals Creek on Hannah Ferry Road in Rowan County. Since an offsite detour
is not feasible, the new bridge will be constructed to the south and existing Hannah Ferry
Road will be realigned. See attached permit drawings.

IPAC identifies one species for the USACE action area: Schweinitz’s sunflower
(Helianthus schweinitzii) is listed as endangered. It shows the Tricolored Bat (PESU-
Perimyotis subflavus)as proposed to be listed as endangered. NCDOT wishes to consult
on the PESU since the speciesstatus listing is anticipated to be revised prior to
construction of the project.
The project is statefunded, and a 404 permit is required. The USACE is the lead federal
agency on the project.
The project is scheduled to Let for construction in May 2023. A General Permit 50 will
be utilized from the USACE. A project location map is attached.

Effects to the Tricolored bat

Mailing Address:Telephone: [phone] Location:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Fax: [phone] SILAS CREEK PARKWAY
DIVISION 9 Customer Service: 1-877-368-4968 WINSTON-SALEM, NC 27127
375 SILAS CREEK PARKWAY
WINSTON SALEM, NC 27127
Website: ncdot.gov

There are no element occurrence data for Tricolored bats in the USACE action area.
There is a known hibernaculum for PESU within 3.8 miles of the action area, at Boone’s
Cave Park in Davidson County.

Foraging, Commuting, and Roosting behavior/Tree Clearing
The Tricolored bat (PESU) utilizes a variety of structures, including culverts, bridges and
abandoned structures for roosting in the summer. Maternity roosts are found in a variety
of terrestrial habitats, included live and dead trees and in live and dead foliage and
lichens in the tree canopies (NaturServe 2022).

PESU primarily utilize abandoned caves and underground mines for their hibernacula in
the winter. They can be found emerging from the hibernacula in the spring and fall.

For PESU, habitat types that were assessed for impacts associated with the replacement
of Bridge Number 76 include roosting locations in caves, mines, and foraging/commuting
locations in a variety of woody habitats. The action area for the Bridge Number 76
project includes woody habitats that qualify as suitable habitat for PESU. There are 2
perennial streams and four wetlands in the action area. Therefore, PESU foraging,
commuting, and roosting behaviors may be impacted by project construction.

There is one bridge in the action area and no pipes equal to or greater than 60’ long and
36” tall in the action area. These minimum pipe lengths are in accordance with NCDOT’s
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) 2022 Preliminary Bat Habitat Assessment. While
the PESU have been shown to utilize pipes as small as 3.3’ tall and 60’ long in North
Carolina, the project will not impact any existing pipes of these dimensions. The existing
bridge was surveyed on June 30, 2022, and no bats or evidence of bats were found.

Based on the most circuitous alternative and widest slope stakes, the total limits of tree
clearing are estimated to be 0.65 acres and is 0.146 miles long. There will be clearing
along the road corridor and will involve clearing along the streams and wetlands. The
clearing will be minimized to the maximum extent practicable to safely construct the new
location roadway. Because the suitable habitat for PESU is so broadly defined, the
potential effect that clearing of woody vegetation anywhere within the action area may
have on PESU commuting, foraging and roosting behavior cannot be completely ruled
out. However, effects from a reduction in commuting and foraging area are expected to
be discountable and insignificant due to the availability of alternative forested area in
the surrounding landscape. In addition, because tree roosting bats are on the landscape
and active between April 1-October 15 (effective with the listing of PESU), a tree
clearing moratorium will be in place during this time so that potential roosting behavior is
not impacted. Given this time of year tree clearing conservation measure and availability
of alternative commuting and foraging habitat, PESU bats are not expected to be
adversely affected.

Roosting, Foraging & Commuting behavior/Lighting:
There will be no new permanent or temporary lights for the project, so there will be no
effect on roosting, foraging or commuting behavior as a result of lighting.

Noise
Therewill be no blasting on the projectfor the project. There will be pile driving,
however it will not occurat night. The closest known hibernacula for PESU is 3.8 miles
away. There are no underground mines located within the action area orwithin 3 miles
of the action area. Theimpacts toPESU roosting habitat may be affected from noise;
however, it will be minimized by restricting pile driving to daytime only.
Biological Conclusion for PESU
Removal of woody vegetation and a bridge areanticipated as part of construction
activities associated with the project. The project effectsare expected to be insignificant,
as explained above. The replacement of Bridge Number 76 and associated roadwork are
not expectedto result in adverse effects to PESUcommuting, foraging, and breeding or
roosting habitat. The followingAvoidance and Minimizations Measures will be utilized
to reduce impacts to the PESU:
1.A tree clearing moratorium will be implemented for the action area from April1
to October 15, effective with the listing of PESU.
2.Tree clearinglimitswill be clearly denoted on the project plansand ensure that
the contractors understand the limits.
3.Tree clearingwill be minimized to whatis required toimplement the project
safely.
4.There will be no pile driving at night.
5.There will be no temporary or permanent lighting.
NCDOT requests concurrence on a“May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect” for
thePESU.
Other Threatened and Endangered Species
NCDOT is not requesting concurrence onthe remaining species that IPAC lists for the
project area. We do however offer the following biological conclusions for thisspecies,
including presenceor absence of habitat and survey dates.
Schweinitz’s sunflower: No Effect. Habitat is present within the project actionarea. The
projectwas surveyedOctober 4, 2017, and October 18, 2021, and none were found.
There are no populations within one mile of the project study area, which is NCDOT’s
current protocol for renderinga ‘mayaffect’ biological conclusion for plants.
NCDOTbelieves that the requirements of Section 7 (a)(2) of the ESA have been satisfied
and hereby request your concurrenceon a May AffectNot Likely toAdverselyAffect
determination forthe Tricolored bat. Thank you for your assistance with this project.If
you have any questions or need additional information, please contactAmy Euliss at
[phone] or at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Amy Euliss
Division 9 PDEA Engineer, NCDOT

Cc:
Daniel Dagenhart, NCDOT Division 9 Bridge Program Manager
Cheryl Knepp, NCDOT Biological Surveys Group
Eric Alsmeyer, USACE