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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-42 • Terrestrial Habitat Assessment Priest Rapids Project Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 2114 Final Report, January 2003. • Biological Assessment for Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Schultz-Hanford Area Transmission Line, September 2002 (BPA 2002). • JBLM YTC Cultural and Natural Resource Management Plan (RMP), January 2002. • Spokane District RMP (1985) and Record of Decision (ROD) (1987) and the 1992 RMP Amendment (BLM 1992a) and ROD (BLM 1992b). • Sage-Grouse Survey Reports for the Proposed Vantage to Pomona 230 kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project (surveys conducted in 2010, 2011, and 2013; Appendix B-1). • Digital element occurrence records for PHS were obtained from WDFW in June 2014. • Wildlife protection areas and Sage-Grouse telemetry and lek data were obtained from JBLM YTC. • BLM geographic information system data for area habitats and special status species observations. • Sage-Grouse Habitat Assessment Reports (Appendix B-2). • Washington Gap Analysis Program (GAP) data was obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A comprehensive list of special status wildlife species with the potential to occur in the Project study area was compiled utilizing occurrence data from BLM, JBLM YTC, WDFW, and USFWS; the federal threatened and endangered species list for each county located within the Project study area; state of Washington listed species; the BLM sensitive species list; and JBLM YTC sensitive species. The species list also included other sensitive species protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and/or Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and game species which may occur within the Project study area. Through habitat suitability assessments, evaluations of species range, known occurrences, and discussion with BLM, JBLM YTC, and USFWS biologists, this species list was refined to include 78 focal species. These species are discussed in Sections 3.3.3.2, Federally Threatened and Endangered Species; 3.3.3.3 Greater Sage-Grouse; and 3.3.3.4, Species of Concern and State-Listed Species and are presented in Tables 3.3-3 and 3.3-7. 3.3.2 Current Conditions and Trends, Regional Overview 3.3.2.1 Species and Habitats - General The vegetative communities associated with the Project study area support a diversity of wildlife, including approximately 22 species of reptiles and amphibians, 174 species of birds, and 50 species of mammals (JBLM YTC 2002). General wildlife species and the four general habitat classifications for the Project study area are discussed below and presented in Table 3.3-1 and Table 3.3-2. For detailed descriptions of land cover types and associated plant species, refer to Section 3.2 Vegetation and the Vegetation and Fire History Map in Appendix A. The Project study area lies within the Columbia Plateau ecoregion. The Columbia Plateau is an arid sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe and grassland that is surrounded by ecoregions that are typically moister, forested, and mountainous (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA] 2010). Before the arrival of Euro-American settlers in the early 1800s, approximately 15 million acres of steppe habitat existed in eastern Washington (Daubenmire 1970; Stinson et al. 2004). Currently, it is estimated that about 50 percent, approximately 7.4 million acres, remains in Washington. The majority of the shrub- steppe vegetation was lost to agricultural cropland; however, roads, residential and commercial development, and inundation by reservoirs have also contributed to the reduction in shrub-steppe habitat (Stinson et al. 2004).