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Home My WebLink About20230735 Ver 1_More Info Received_20230621 (2)RCW SLOPES Manual — North Carolina March 2022 US Army Corps of Engineers AppendixB — Red -cockaded Woodpecker Effects Determination Key ORM2 No.: - 2-0 - oct 18g Date 4p/21 2-3 ODIC kACILVIbor V i biT.- USFWS Reference No. (if applicable): 1) Is the action area' located within the RCW consultation area (see Appendix A and project -specific results from a project -specific IPaC or internal USACE GIS review)? 10 Yes......................................................................................................................................................go to 2 b) No...................................................................................................................................................No effect' 2) Is the action areal located in the northeastern coastal plain (see Appendix A)? a) Yes.......................................................................................................................................................go to 3 b) No (the project is located in piedmont, sandhills, or southeastern coastal plain)..................go to 4 3) Is the action area' located in a forested area with pine trees present in northeast North Carolina (e.g., high pocosin, Atlantic white cedar, nonriverine swamp forests, pond pine woodland, coastal fringe evergreen forest, wet successional pine/pine-hardwood forest, or pine plantation or uplands)? If yes, are the pine trees greater than 30 years of age (if stand age is not readily determined, refer to Table 1 for a description of the minimum dbh of 30-year-old pines associated with each community type). If the answer to both of these questions is yes, choose Yes below. If the answer to one or both questions is no, then choose No below. a) Yes.......................................................................................................................................................go to 8 b) No...................................................................................................................................................No effect' 4) Is the action area' located within suitable RCW foraging or nesting habitat (pine or pine/hardwood stands in which 50% or more of the dominant trees are pines and the dominant pine trees are 30 years of age or older or >_8-inches dbh-5)? a) Yes.......................................................................................................................................................go to 5 No...................................................................................................................................................No effect' 5) Will any activity in the action area' remove trees equal to or greater than 8 inches dbh; or will any activity occur within 200 feet of known RCW cavity trees? If unable to determine the location of a cavity tree with confidence, contact the USFWS Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office. a) Yes (to one or both).........................................................................................................................go to 6 b) No.........................................................................................................................................................NLAA3 12 RCW SLOPES Manual — North Carolina March 2022 6) Is the action area' located in suitable RCW nesting habitat (in the sandhills and piedmont: pine or pine/hardwood stands that contain pines 60 years in age or older or >_10 inches dbh; in the southeastern coastal plain: pine or pine/hardwood stands that contain pines>!8 inches dbh, including but not limited to pine flatwoods, pocosin, pine savannah, upland pine/hardwood)? a) Yes........................................................................................................................................................go to 9 b) No.........................................................................................................................................................go to 7 7) Does suitable nesting habitat occur within 0.5 miles of suitable foraging habitat that would be impacted by any activity in the action areal? a) Yes......................................................................................................................................................go to 9 b) No.........................................................................................................................................................NLAA3 8) Refer to Table 1 in the SLOPES for the northeastern North Carolina habitat type in the action areal. Are pine trees with a dbh equal to or greater than that shown in Table 1 proposed to be removed in the action area', or is the action area' within 200 feet of a cavity tree? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, choose Yes below. If unable to determine the location of a cavity tree with confidence, then contact the USFWS Raleigh Field Office. a) Yes......................................................................................................................................................go to 9 b) No.........................................................................................................................................................NLAA3 9) Contact the appropriate USACE representative for a pre -application meeting to determine if a survey is necessary (for a list of USACE representatives please see the contact list at http://saw- reg.usace.army.mil/FO/PMList.pdf). Note that project -specific information, such as a delineation of waters of the U.S., project plans, and details concerning certain activities on disturbances that would occur in the action area' (e.g. percussive activities, forest management, or similar disturbances), may be needed for the USACE to determine the action area(s)' of the project. If a survey is required and agreed to by the applicant, all suitable RCW nesting habitat within 0.5 miles of the action areal should be surveyed according to USFWS protocol for the presence of RCW cavity trees4. If the applicant is unwilling or unable to conduct the survey, standard consultation with the USFWS should begin. Such surveys are conducted by running line transects through stands and visually inspecting all medium- sized and large pines for evidence of cavity excavation by RCWs. Transects must be spaced so that all trees are inspected and are run north -south. Was a survey performed? a) Yes, a survey was performed, and RCW cavity trees were observed.......................................go to 10 b) Yes, the survey was submitted to the USFWS for concurrence, and the USFWS concurred with the results (no RCW cavity trees were observed)................................................................................NLAA3 c) No, the USACE determined that a survey was not required and the USFWS concurred............................................................................................................................................. N LAA3 d) No, a survey was not performed..........................................................................Consultation required' 10) Does the project involve activities or disturbances in the action area' (e.g., percussive activities, forest management, or similar disturbances) within the 200-foot cavity tree buffer, and/or cause removal or damage to RCW cavity trees (e.g., via root compaction, soil compaction)? If yes to either or both then consultation is required. a) Yes............................................................................................................................Consultation required' b) No......................................................................................................................................................go to 11 13 RCW SLOPES Manual — North Carolina March 2022 11) Has a foraging habitat analysis (FHA)' been conducted to determine whether enough foraging habitat would remain for each RCW group post -project? For information on how to conduct an FHA', refer to the "Procedures for Determining Foraging Habitat Availability" and the Private Land Guidelines.' a) Yes, the FHA' has been submitted to the USFWS for concurrence$ and the USFWS concurred that adequate amounts of foraging habitat would remain post -project ................................. NLAA 3 b) Yes, and review of the FHA' by the USACE along with concurrence from USFWS determined inadequate amounts of foraging habitat would remain post -project......... Consultation required5 c) No, an FHA' has not been conducted...............................................................Consultation required' 'Action Area means all areas to be affected directly or indirectly by the Federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action. Please contact the appropriate USACE representative for any questions as to the action area for the Federal action. For a list of USACE representatives, please see the contact list at: http://saw-reg.usace.army.mil/FO/PMlist.pdf. 2No effect — The proposed project would result in no effect to this species and/or its federally designated critical habitat (if applicable). Further consultation with the USFWS Raleigh and Asheville Ecological Services field offices is not necessary for the project as described. 3NLAA—The proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect this species and/or its designated critical habitat (if applicable). NLAA determinations for projects made pursuant to this key require no further consultation with the USFWS Raleigh and Asheville Ecological Services field offices, therefore, consultation is considered complete forthis species. For General Permits, submittal of a Pre -Construction Notification to the USACE will be required for all NLAA determinations. °Follow link to USFWS RCW Recovery Plan, Appendix 4 for additional information on nesting and foraging habitats, and survey protocol (https://www.fws.goy/rcwrecovery/files/RecoveryPlan/survey protocol.pdf) 5Consultation required — Contact the USACE to begin this consultation process. For a list of USACE representatives please see the contact list at http://saw-reg.usace.army.mil/FO/PMList.pdf. Further consultation with the USFWS Raleigh and Asheville Ecological Services field offices is necessary to discern if the activity would result in a "no effect," "not likely to adversely affect," or "likely to adversely affect" determination. 6Follow links for additional information on conducting FHA (https://www.fws.gov/rcwrecovery/matrix.html) and for determining foraging habitat availability (https://www.fws.goy/ncsandhills/files/fha data collection procedures.pdf). 7Follow link for additional information regarding determination for adequate amount of foraging habitat (https://www.fws.gov/rcwrecovery/files/RecovervPlan/private lands guidelines.pdf). 8 FHA — When an FHA is conducted, the USACE must provide the FHA to USFWS for review and concurrence. 14