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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-3 3.2 VEGETATION AND SPECIAL STATUS PLANT SPECIES As was done in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), this section describes the existing conditions (affected environment) and considers issues related to vegetation and special status plant species along all Action Alternatives presented in the DEIS and SDEIS, including those raised during scoping. This Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) section consolidates and builds on the information presented in the January 2013 DEIS as well as the January 2015 SDEIS and includes references to those documents throughout the text where appropriate. This FEIS identifies the New Northern Route (NNR) Alternative – Overhead Design Option as the Environmentally Preferred Alternative and has selected the NNR Alternative – Overhead Design Option as the Agency Preferred Alternative. This section describes the general vegetation, special status plant species and noxious weeds present within the Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project (Project) area. For the purposes of this analysis, the Project study area for vegetation and special status plant species was defined as a two-mile wide corridor; one mile on either side of route segment and subroute centerlines. Please note that the two-mile buffer around each route segment overlaps with the adjacent route segments. This was done to allow for a discrete discussion of the affected environment and comparison of each route segment. Scoping comments included concerns regarding the impacts to vegetation communities through construction and maintenance activities, specifically disturbance to sagebrush and native grassland communities. Concerns were also raised regarding impacts to special status plant species and the potential for the introduction and spread of noxious weeds and control measures to be implemented. These comments were considered during data collection and analysis of vegetation and special status plant species within the Project study area. 3.2.1 Data Sources The evaluation was conducted using planning documents, Project-specific field studies, digital data sources and previously conducted studies. Sources utilized included: • U.S. Department of the Army (Army), FEIS for Fort Lewis Army Growth and Force Structure Realignment, July 2010 (Army 2010). • Hanford Reach National Monument Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, August 2008 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 2008). • Joint Base Lewis-McChord Yakima Training Center (JBLM YTC) Cultural and Natural Resource Management Plan (RMP), January 2002. • Spokane District RMP (Bureau of Land Management [BLM] 1985) and Record of Decision (ROD) (BLM 1987) and the 1992 RMP amendment (BLM 1992a) and ROD (BLM 1992b). • Sage-Grouse Habitat Assessment Report (Appendix B-2). • Project-Specific Special Status Plant Species Survey Report (Appendix B-3). • Project-Specific Noxious Weed Survey Report (Appendix B-4). • Washington Connected Landscapes Project: Analysis of the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion (Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group 2012). • Digital element occurrence records of current and historical rare and imperiled species were obtained from Washington National Heritage Program (WNHP) and Geographic Biotic Observations (GeoBOB), updated December 2015 (WNHP 2015a; GeoBOB 2015). • Washington Gap Analysis Program (GAP) data was obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) GAP.