SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 3 ⎯ Affected EnvironmentBiologically Significant Areas. The Hawaii Natural Heritage Program has defined three types ofBSAs for managing important natural communities. Approximately 1,000 acres of the KTA/KLOAROI in KLOA are designated as BSA 1. This includes much of the wet summit crest ecological zoneand the two rare natural communities. Twenty-six of the 28 endangered plant species at KLOA are inthis area. There are five BSA 2 areas in KTA, three of which are in the northern portion of the trainingarea and contain populations of nioi. At the southern tip of KTA is a BSA 2 that includes in itsvegetative community populations of the federally listed as endangered nanu, haha, and Hesperomanniaarborescens (no common name). In the northwest portion of KTA is an additional BSA 2 thatharbors the endangered tree Koolau Range ohe as well as nanu. An additional BSA 2 zone within theROI is composed mostly of potential habitat for the endangered land snail, Achatinella spp. This areacovers the entire remaining wet summit crest zone that was not included in BSA 1. The following endangeredplant species are known to occur in this region: nioi, Cyanea crispa, oha, nanu, wawaeiole,alani (Melicope lydgatei), kolea (Myrsine judii), Phyllostegia hirsute, and Viola oahuensis. KTA’sBSA 3 area is large and continuous and adjoins all but one of the BSA 2 areas. The dominant vegetationtypes are ohia lowland wet forest and uluhe lowland wet shrubland, which are potential habitatsfor endangered tree snails and native forest birds. As of 1997, seven plants in the BSA 3 region wereupgraded to federal status, and it is possible that boundaries have been revised. Although there are norare communities in the BSA 3, the forests in these locations are native dominated and provide potentialhabitat for species reintroduction. Sensitive snail habitat is also found within the ROI. Althoughthis habitat has not been federally designated or proposed as critical habitat, it has been identified ascontaining the habitat requirements necessary for supporting the federally listed and snail species ofconcern on Oahu.3.1.9.4 Pohakuloa Training AreaVegetation Community DescriptionsPTA is on the Island of Hawaii on the west side of Humuula Saddle, a plateau formed by Mauna Keaand Mauna Loa. The surrounding lands are mostly designated as conservation district and are managedor leased by a variety of private landowners and the State of Hawaii. Approximately 38 percentof the plants found on PTA are indigenous or endemic, and thousands of hours have been spent collectinginformation on their location and distribution.There are 24 vegetation communities on PTA (Shaw and Castillo 1997). Numerous introduced plantspecies make up a significant portion of many of these habitats, and introduced plants are componentsin all habitats on PTA. About 62 percent of the plants found at PTA are introduced species. Barrenlava covers 25 percent of the installation. Lichens, such as Stereocoulon vulcani, and ferns, such asPella ternifolia, are the first colonizers of these flows, though fountain grass is invading barren areas.There are four types of Metrosideros treeland, ranging from sparse to mixed intermediate. The dominantcanopy vegetation in these areas is generally ohia. There are three types of Dodonaea shrubland:open, dense, and mixed. Aalii (Dodonaea viscosa) is the dominant plant in each community, alongwith other native species, including ilima (Sida fallax), aheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), and naio.Leptecophylla occurs either as a mixed shrubland community or as a component of Leptecophylla-Dodonaea shrubland. Chamaesyce treeland is generally found hosting native species of Chamaesyceolowaluana (a species of concern), ilima, aheahea, and aalii. Chenopodium shrubland and Eragrostisaptopioides grassland are similar communities with different dominant species. The remainder of thenative natural communities is a combination of Chamaesyce, Myoporum, and Sophora species, withdivisions based on the densities of species.February 2008 3–73 2/25th SBCT Final EIS