Wildlife (Aquatic and Terrestrial Wildlife, Birds, Bats, and Special-Status Species)

Aquatic and Terrestrial Wildlife and Special-Status Species

Several factors influence the geographical occurrence and abundance of wildlife species, including vegetation, environmental conditions, population connectivity, and habitat quality. Therefore, the analysis area for potential effects on aquatic and terrestrial wildlife resources and special-status species varies depending on the resource type and what Project-related effects are assessed.

The Project would slightly decrease available habitat for big game species. Ground disturbance would remove vegetation used by big game as forage and the noise associated with construction and operations and maintenance (O&M) activities would temporarily deter big game from using available habitat. Three herd management units (HMUs) completely overlap the Project Area, which amounts to approximately 2.4 percent of the total acreage of the three HMUs. Considering the percentage of impact relative to available habitat, big game individuals could be impacted by Project construction and operations, but impacts are not anticipated at the population or community levels. Impacts from noise and activities associated with construction and operations would cease when the activity was over, and impacts associated with ground disturbance would end when the disturbance was reclaimed as part of Project decommissioning. Increased vehicle and equipment traffic on new and existing access roads would increase the risk of vehicle collisions. These impacts would be reduced with the completion of construction activities, but would be remain, at a lower level, for the duration of Project O&M. Throughout the life of the Project, most wildlife would be able to effectively cross Project roads during times of inactivity; vehicle mortalities are not anticipated to affect communities or populations of a species.

Construction across or near stream channels or other waterbodies that increases turbidity, sedimentation, or salinity and provide for potential spread of aquatic invasive species would degrade aquatic habitat. These effects would dissipate shortly after construction activities cease and sediment settles and are not anticipated to affect downstream aquatic species habitat or aquatic species populations or communities. It is conservatively anticipated that the volume of water required for construction of the Project would not exceed 200 acre-feet over the course of an 18-month construction period and could be acquired by entering into temporary water use agreements with landowners with existing water sources. Water also could be acquired by drilling temporary water wells that are not hydrologically connected to the Platte River so that no new depletions to the Platte River occur during construction. This volume and sources are not anticipated to have tangible effects on fish communities or populations. No new water depletions are expected for Project O&M and, therefore, no effects on aquatic resources are anticipated from water withdrawals during that time.

Project construction and operations activities and vehicle traffic during construction and operations would disturb habitat for small game and nongame species and increase predation on these species from the introduction of new perching opportunities for avian predators until the disturbance was reclaimed as part of Project decommissioning and are not expected to effect populations or communities of a species. For one special-status species, the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Area of Influence overlaps a portion of the Project Area. There is moderate and moderately high suitable habitat present in that portion of the Project Area, but the species is not known to occur in the Project Area. The identified moderate and moderately high suitable habitat would be avoided to the extent practicable during Project construction. Based on the analysis of these issues, no significant impacts would be anticipated to terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and special-status species.

Avian and Bat Species

Several factors influence the potential for avian and bat species to occur and persist in a given area, including the availability of suitable habitat, prey and forage, and nesting or roosting substrate, and the level of disturbance present. Therefore, the analysis areas for potential effects on avian and bat wildlife resources vary by resource type and the Project-related effects being assessed.

Ground-disturbing construction and operations activities would impact avian and bat habitat through the removal of vegetation used for nesting, foraging, and brood-rearing for birds. Construction disturbance and operations infrastructure would impact 1,471.3 acres of habitat (5.6 percent of the Project Area) until those areas were reclaimed following construction and again during decommissioning. Anticipated bird fatalities from collisions with vehicles and meteorological towers, and electrocution from aboveground collector lines, would be negligible, and there would be no expected population or community-level effects. The Project would develop and implement a Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy (BBCS) to avoid and reduce potential impacts that may result from Project operations; therefore, collision and electrocution effects are not anticipated to impact communities or populations and would end with decommissioning.

Project construction and, to a lesser extent, O&M activities in the siting corridors, would disturb prey habitat and individual prey animals until construction activities cease or until disturbed areas are reclaimed during decommissioning and are not anticipated to impact individual raptors or raptor communities or populations. Construction activities would remove vegetation with the potential to serve as substrate for nesting avian species in the siting corridors until disturbed areas were reclaimed. Although some birds would be displaced from nesting in the siting corridors, it is anticipated that they would use suitable habitat outside the siting corridors during construction disturbance.

Noise and increased human presence from construction and O&M activities, equipment, and personnel would affect some individual birds’ nesting success because of nest abandonment, direct mortality, reduced fitness and survivorship, and disturbance of nesting vegetation. Effects would decrease with the end of construction activities and cease with reclamation during decommissioning. The Project would develop and implement eagle conservation practices to minimize the unintentional take of eagles, including setting wind turbines back at least 1 mile from known eagle nests. A BBCS would be developed and implemented to avoid and reduce potential impacts to avian and bat species. Avian and bat species of concern would be impacted by habitat loss and fragmentation, increased activity, and vehicular traffic in the same ways described for avian and bat species more generally; while individuals may be at risk, populations are not anticipated to be affected.

The risk of bird and bat mortality from turbine blade collision would be slightly increased for the Siemens Gamesa 6.0 MW turbines because they would have more total wind-swept area compared to the Vestas 5.6 MW turbines and GE 3.0 MW turbines. The relationship between turbine height and bird and bat mortality risk is unclear for the range of turbines being considered. Project construction and O&M would disturb roost sites and hibernacula for bats if present in the siting corridors in rocky outcrops (0.48 percent of the siting corridors) or forested habitat (0.82 percent of the siting corridors); however, bats could avoid these areas during construction and O&M activities and return when construction activities ceased and reclamation was completed during decommissioning. Based on the analysis of these issues, impacts are expected to individual birds and bats, but populations are not expected to be affected, and the impacts would not be significant.