SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 5 – Environmental Consequencespreviously disturbed areas that would be affected, and minimal loss of native wildlife habitat. Loss ofnative plant communities, fragmentation of wildlife habitat, and disturbance and displacement ofspecial status species during construction could occur, but is highly unlikely because the areas whererange construction would occur have been previously disturbed. This is not expected to increaseimpacts to threatened and endangered species. No range construction would be necessary at PCMS;therefore, impact analysis is not applicable. Impacts from range construction on threatened andendangered species is expected to be less than significant.Impacts to general wildlife and habitats. Construction of new ranges at FTC would result in longtermor permanent loss of previously disturbed habitat and 3 acres of undisturbed habitat associatedwith the UAC. Construction noise and related human presence would disrupt the normal activities ofanimals. Mortality may occur to individual animals that are small or less mobile. Building new roadsand ranges could increase habitat fragmentation. Construction and development of ranges wouldprovide habitat for species that prefer edge habitat, open areas, or early succession. Overall, the shorttermimpacts of range construction would be minor. Range construction would have the long-termimpact of reducing the available habitat for some species; however, the relatively small size of theproposed ranges compared to available habitat resources is less than significant.The following measures would be implemented to reduce the impacts to general wildlife and habitatsfurther.• Buffer zones around sensitive wildlife locations, such as bird nests, would be accommodatedwhere feasible.• Existing species management plans would continue to be implemented.• Continue weed prevention and control, avoid nesting birds by restricting mowing of roadshoulders and prescribed burns to the extent possible during the nesting season.• Continue surveys of power lines to minimize bird electrocutions.• Continue practice of identifying golden eagle nest sites annually, establishing 1,640-feet buffersaround each nest site, and restricting training in buffer zones between April and June.No ImpactsImpacts to Wetlands. No direct impacts to wetlands from the new ranges proposed for construction onFTC are anticipated. If future training or construction activities have the potential to affect wetlands,the Army would coordinate with the USACE to assess impacts and mitigation for disturbance ofwetland areas. Most direct impacts to wetlands would be avoided, and those that could not be avoidedwould be mitigated through the Section 404 process (through either complying with the FTC regionalpermit or applying for coverage under a Nationwide Permit). No range construction would benecessary at PCMS; therefore, impact analysis is Not Applicable. No mitigation is necessary forwetland impacts from range construction.5.4.10.3 Impacts from Live-Fire TrainingSignificant Impacts Mitigable to Less than SignificantImpact 1: Impacts to Threatened and Endangered Species: A larger number of Soldiers would useexisting and newly constructed ranges at FTC for live-fire training. There would be a correspondingincrease in the total number of rounds fired as well as increased vehicular traffic. Increased live-firetraining activities would likely increase prairie dog burrow damage, and direct mortality couldFebruary 2008 5-168 2/25th SBCT Final EIS