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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 <br />230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences <br /> PAGE 4-7 <br /> <br />Table 4.2-2 Summary of Impacts to Vegetation Resources <br />IMPACT PROJECT ATTRIBUTE POTENTIAL IMPACT AND VEGETATION RESOURCE <br />EFFECT <br />LONGEVITY <br />Direct injury and/or mortality <br />to vegetation <br />Vehicle and human <br />trampling during construction <br />and maintenance. <br />Destruction, mortality, and <br />injury to vegetation. Reduction <br />in habitat quantity and quality. <br />Potential disturbance and/or <br />destruction of special status <br />plants and/or habitat. <br />Short-term in areas <br />adjacent to the ROW. <br /> <br />Long-term in areas <br />associated with clearing <br />and grading for access <br />roads and transmission <br />structures. <br />Ground disturbance Construction, tower <br />foundations, access roads. <br />Habitat loss and reduction in <br />habitat quality through the <br />potential establishment of <br />noxious weeds and invasive <br />species, increased erosion <br />potential. <br />Short-term within the <br />footprint from construction. <br /> <br />Long-term from access <br />roads and structures. <br />Fugitive dust generation Construction, maintenance <br />and repair activities <br />Reduced photosynthesis, <br />impaired species respiration, <br />reduction in habitat quality. <br />Short-term within the <br />footprint from construction. <br /> <br />Long-term from access <br />roads. <br />Exposure to pollutants Chemical spills from <br />construction and <br />maintenance. <br />Reduced survival, population <br />and growth. <br />Short-term, localized to <br />construction and <br />maintenance sites. <br />Fire Construction and <br />maintenance equipment, <br />human access. <br />Habitat loss and reduction in <br />habitat quality through the <br />potential post-fire <br />establishment of noxious <br />weeds and invasive species. <br />Short-term in the <br />construction footprint for <br />the transmission line. <br /> <br />Long-term for access <br />roads. <br />Impacts can occur directly or indirectly and be short- or long-term. Direct impacts are the result of the <br />physical destruction or degradation of a resource that could occur from the proposed Project. An example <br />of a direct impact is the removal and grading of grassland habitat during the construction of a road. <br />Indirect impacts are effects that are somewhat distant from the Project in time, space, or both. A common <br />example of an indirect impact is the introduction and establishment of noxious weeds and invasive <br />species in newly disturbed soil. <br />Impacts are considered short-term if they disturb vegetation, but do not prevent the reestablishment of <br />vegetation communities to pre-impact structure and functionality within five years. Impacts to grasslands <br />are frequently considered short-term because these communities typically recover more quickly than plant <br />communities possessing a woody component (Olson et al. 2000; Lesica et al. 2005). Long-term impacts <br />continue for an extended period of years. Long-term impacts are impacts where a complete change in <br />functionality occurs (e.g., land conversion) or where return to pre-impact conditions takes an extended <br />time to occur (e.g., more than five years). Due to their woody component, long-term impacts can be <br />expected in sagebrush dominated areas.