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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-30 Chapter 16-750 Washington Administrative Code (WAC) contains the Noxious Weed List, which is updated on an annual basis, definitions and descriptions. Chapter 16-752 WAC contains a plant quarantine list that is maintained and regulated by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. This quarantine list contains ornamental plants that are or have the potential to become a noxious weed. 3.2.3.6 Washington Natural Heritage Program In 1981, Chapter 79.70 of the Revised Code of Washington established the WNHP within the WDNR. The WNHP manages data on priority species and ecosystems; those that are rare or have very limited distribution (WNHP 2015b). State status of plant species is determined by the WNHP (WNHP 2014). Factors considered include abundance, occurrence patterns, vulnerability, threats, existing protection, and taxonomic distinctness. State status definitions (WNHP 2015c) include, but are not limited to: • Endangered: Any taxon in danger of becoming extinct or extirpated from Washington within the foreseeable future if factors contributing to its decline continue. Populations of these taxa are at critically low levels or their habitats have been degraded or depleted to a significant degree. • Threatened: Any taxon likely to become Endangered in Washington within the foreseeable future if factors contributing to its population decline or habitat degradation or loss continue. • Sensitive: Any taxon that is vulnerable or declining and could become Endangered or Threatened in the state without active management or removal of threats. 3.2.4 Route Segment Specific Considerations 3.2.4.1 Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 parallels Sage Trail Road and an existing distribution line. Vegetation within the two-mile wide Project study area for Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 is comprised primarily of disturbed shrub-steppe dominated by annual grasses such as cheatgrass (3,292.2 acres, 67.9 percent) and agricultural lands (540.9 acres, 11.2 percent; Table 3.2-1). Approximately 6.7 percent (323.9 acres) of Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 within the Project study area consists of big sagebrush with an understory of native perennial bunchgrasses. Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 crosses a concrete-lined irrigation canal and several intermittent or ephemeral drainages with no riparian vegetation. Riparian vegetation is present along the Yakima River, west of the route segment. No special status plants are known to occur within the Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 Project study area (Table 3.2-5). The entire route segment is comprised of non-federal land (44.1 acres) and was not surveyed (Table 3.2-3). Approximately 12.7 acres of suitable habitat, 19.9 acres of marginal, and 11.4 acres of unsuitable habitat is present within this route segment’s ROW. No priority ecosystems are present within five miles of the Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 ROW. No noxious weed species are known to occur within the Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 Project study area; however, this route segment was not surveyed due to the absence of federal or WSDOT lands (Table 3.2- 2). Due to the proximity to agricultural and developed lands, many of the noxious weed species in Table 3.2-2 could be present along Route Segment 1a/NNR-1. 3.2.4.2 Route Segment 1b Vegetation within the two-mile wide Project study area for Route Segment 1b is comprised primarily of annual grasses such as cheatgrass (8,254.1 acres, 46.2 percent) and big sagebrush with an understory of native perennial bunchgrasses (4,616.6 acres, 25.8 percent). Route Segment 1b parallels an existing