San Luis Valley Regional Habitat Conservation Plan Draft for Public Review
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3.6Related Activities with No ImpactsThis HCP provides regulatory coverage for the covered activities, and establishes a framework to mitigate for the impacts of those activities on riparian habitat in the Valley. In addition to the covered activities, there are several additional and related activities that could be construed to result in the incidental take of the covered species and their habitat, but do not result in take because 1) they occur in non-habitat areas, and/or 2) potential habitat impacts are negligible and infrequent.
These activities are described below, and are not discussed further in this HCP. Haying, Mowing, and Crop ProductionEstablished agricultural land that is used for haying, mowing, crop production, and other standard practices does not support riparian habitat. Therefore, impacts to riparian habitat from these uses will be negligible to nonexistent. This category includes several agricultural activities that are common in the Valley. Haying may include the cultivation, irrigation, cutting, and bailing of pasture and native grasses. Mowing includes the cutting of native or introduced pasture grasses for a variety of purposes, including weed control and livestock management. Crop production includes a variety of activities such as preparing fields, planting crops, cultivating crops, and installing, operating, and maintaining irrigation equipment. These activities typically occur on lands that are dedicated to agricultural uses. The removal of existing native riparian vegetation to establish new cropland or pasture is not a frequent occurrence and is not expected to be an issue with HCP implementation. Such vegetation clearing to establish new fields is not covered by this HCP.
Prescribed FirePrescribed fire is occasionally used by land and resource managers for a variety of agricultural and resource management purposes. Fire may be used to clear willows from the edges of fields, roads, and ditches for the purposes of agricultural use and water management. Fire also may be used for noxious weed management or ecological restoration purposes. However, the use of fire as an agricultural management tool is becoming increasingly uncommon, and is being replaced by mechanical tools. Prescribed fire may result in the short-term elimination of willows, particularly along field edges that are not considered habitat for the covered species. This activity is not likely to directly impact the interior dense willows used for nesting habitat or cover. In some cases, fire may benefit old, decadent willow stands by stimulating early successional processes and promoting regeneration and foliage density. Considering the small extent of fire impacts when it is used, and the sporadic and decreasing frequency of its use, the impacts of prescribed fire on the covered species and their habitat is anticipated to be negligible. Nuisance Beaver RemovalWhile aquatic mammals such as beaver and muskrat can contribute to the diversity and viability or riparian systems, they can become problematic by damming streams, canals, and ditches and can undermine the integrity of diversion and flood-control structures. The removal of these animals and their structures (i.e., beaver dams) from an area may change the local hydrology and dry out previously inundated areas, although those changes are within the range of variation that is natural in the riparian system. Hunting, trapping, or other methods of removing or managing aquatic mammals is under the jurisdiction of the CPW. Wildlife SurveysProfessional biologists and amateur naturalists may periodically disturb riparian habitat areas while they are conducting scientific or census surveys for wildlife. These surveys may include, but are not limited to bird census surveys and trapping or observational surveys for other wildlife species. The potential impacts of survey activities on the covered species and their habitat do not result in incidental take and are not needed to be covered by this HCP. Surveys for flycatchers or other listed species are covered separately under Section 10 (A)(1)(a) permits. Residential ActivitiesSome activities that are similar to those covered by this HCP (and described above) may occur on residential lots within the municipal boundaries of incorporated towns and other urban or semi-urban settings. These activities may include maintenance and replacement of existing landscaping, livestock grazing or browsing within small-lot or backyard enclosures, or removing vegetation for other landscape maintenance purposes on residential lots that are less than one acre in size, with less than 0.25 acre of vegetation removed or impacted. These activities occur within developed urban or semi-urban settings that do not support suitable habitat for the covered species, are fragmented from riparian habitat along principal creeks and streams, and are not likely to result in impacts to the covered species. Activities that are otherwise covered by this HCP, including ditch clearing, water facility maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, and others remain covered when they occur within municipal boundaries or urban settings. Large-scale riparian vegetation removal (greater than 0.25 acres) on larger, semi-urban or rural residential lots could impact the covered species and is not covered by this HCP. Development related activities of any kind are not covered by this HCP. 4.0Summary of ImpactsThis HCP addresses the permanent and temporary impacts resulting from conducting a defined set of covered activities during the 30-year permit term. The covered activities, impact calculation methods and assumptions, and definitions for permanent, temporary, and negligible impacts are described in Section 3. All impacts are presented in terms of riparian habitat. Considering the lack of information about known or suspected occurrences of the flycatcher or other covered species on private lands, this HCP does not attempt to quantify take in terms of individual territories or birds. Instead, all impacts and take are quantified by habitat.21 The relationship of habitat impacts with potential flycatcher territories is discussed below in Section 4.5. |