HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT

HOLT HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC NO. 2203

DRAFT

PREPARED BY:

JULY 2012

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HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT DRAFT

HOLT HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC NO. 2203

ALABAMA POWER COMPANY

BIRMINGHAM, AL

1.0 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2.0 METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................................1

3.0 SPECIES AND HABITAT ..................................................................................................1

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ..........................................................................................2

5.0 LITERATURE CITED ........................................................................................................3

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 HOLT PROJECT BOUNDARY AND TERRESTRIAL SURVEY AREA .................................3

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HOLT TERRESTRIAL SPECIES SURVEY REPORT DRAFT

HOLT HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC NO. 2203

1.0 INTRODUCTION

On June 18 and July 3, 2012, Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) Environmental

Affairs personnel conducted a terrestrial species survey of the entire Holt Project Boundary, in

order to partially fulfill one of the relicensing study plans for the Holt Hydroelectric Project

(FERC No. 2203) (Project). The objective of the survey was to determine the presence of rare,

threatened or endangered (RTE) species and/or essential habitat for those species within the

Project Boundary. The Holt Preliminary Application Document (PAD) identified three terrestrial

species present in Tuscaloosa County: the candidate species white fringeless orchid (Platanthera

integrilabia), the bald eagle1

2.0 METHODOLOGY

(Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and the endangered red-cockaded

woodpecker (RCW) (Picoides borealis). Alabama Power focused their survey on these three

species.

The survey area included the transmission line Holt transmission line corridor and other lands

within the Project Boundary (Figure 1). The survey was accomplished by walking all of the lands

located within the Project Boundary and performing a visual inspection for the appropriate

habitat for each species or for the actual presence of individuals of the three species.

3.0 SPECIES AND HABITAT

The white fringeless orchid, native to the southeastern and south central United States, generally

blooms from late July to early September, although flowers can be seen as early as June in the

southern part of its range, including Alabama. It is usually found in flat, boggy areas at the head

of streams or seepage slopes. The plant prefers partial shade and is often found in association

with Sphagnum species (Pistrang, 2012; Shea, 1992).

Bald eagles may be found throughout North America, typically around water where they feed

primarily on fish and scavenge carrion. The species thrives around bodies of water where

1 Protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

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adequate food exists and human disturbance is limited. Eagles nest in large trees near water and

typically use the same nest for several years, making repairs to it annually. No critical habitat has

been designated for this species (DeGraff and Rudis, 1986).

The RCW is endemic to open, mature, and old growth pine ecosystems in the southeastern

United States. Suitable nesting habitat generally consists of open pine forests and savannahs with

large, older pines and minimal hardwood mid-story or over-story. Living trees, especially older

trees that are susceptible to red-heart disease making them more easily excavated, provide the

RCW’s preferred nesting cavities. Suitable foraging habitat consists of open-canopy mature pine

forests with low densities of small pines, little mid-story vegetation, limited hardwood over-

story, and abundant bunchgrass and forb groundcover (USFWS, 2003).

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The survey area includes two types of terrestrial habitats – transmission line and wooded upland

area near the overlook. The transmission line consists primarily of upland vegetation through

pastures and rolling hills with 15 to 35 degree slopes. It also crosses Hurricane Creek and an

unnamed tributary of the Black Warrior River located 0.1 miles west of the Holt Dam

Hydroelectric Powerhouse. The upland area is dominated by planted loblolly pine with

interspersed hardwoods, Virginia pine, and other common vegetation. The common vegetation

found in both areas includes muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia), poison ivy (Toxicodendron

radicans), greenbrier (Smilax auriculata), trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), Japanese

honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), loblolly pine

(Pinus taeda) and water oak (Quercus nigra).

No white fringeless orchids were found during the survey. Although it could be slightly early for

the orchids to be in flower (and therefore more conspicuous), no habitat that was close to

appropriate for the species was found. In addition, there were no eagle nests, eagles, RCWs, nor

cavity trees observed during the survey. In conclusion, there were no RTE species or their

essential habitat observed in the terrestrial Project Boundary of the Holt Project.

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FIGURE 1 HOLT PROJECT BOUNDARY AND TERRESTRIAL SURVEY AREA

5.0 LITERATURE CITED

DeGraff, R.M., and D.D. Rudis. 1986. New England Wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. Gen. Tech. Report NE-108. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, PA.

Pistrang, M. 2012. White Fringeless Orchid (PLATANTHERA INTEGRILABIA). [Online] URL

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the- week/platanthera_integrilabia.shtml. Accessed June 19, 2012.

Shea, M. 1992. Status Survey Report on Platanthera integrilabia. Technical Report to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Asheville, North Carolina. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 2003. Recovery plan for the red-cockaded

woodpecker(Picoides borealis): second revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, A. 296 PP.