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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences PAGE 4-40 sagebrush/perennial grassland and 12.8 acres of annual grassland/noxious weeds. Approximately 18.6 acres of vegetation would be temporarily disturbed. General vegetation impacts are similar to those described above for Route Segment 1a/NNR-1. Disturbance would be minimized by RDFs described above that are designed to reduce impacts to vegetation resources. RDFs include using existing roads to access structure sites, minimizing blading and disturbance to plant communities, revegetating following construction, and implementing a Noxious Weed and Invasive Plant Management Plan. Refer to Section 2.3 - Required Design Features Common to Action Alternatives for a complete list and description of RDFs. Impacts for Route Segment MR-1 are anticipated to be: no identifiable for 2.6 miles (disturbance occurring in developed or already disturbed areas), low for 4.9 miles, and moderate for 4.4 miles. Special Status Species and Priority Ecosystem No special status species are known to occur along Route Segment MR-1 (Table 4.2-5). WNHP data indicate snowball cactus occurs within one mile of Route Segment MR-1. WNHP data also indicate that Route Segment MR-1 intersects one WNHP Priority Ecosystem, big sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass, for approximately 0.4 mile. Impacts to this priority ecosystem would occur through disturbance and vegetation removal associated with construction. Impacts would be reduced by: closing access roads where not needed; implementing noxious weed control; and minimizing blading and disturbance to plant communities. Due to route adjustments made following the special status plant surveys, approximately 0.4 percent (0.5 acre) of federal and state lands along Route Segment MR-1 were surveyed for special status plants (Table 3.2-3). With Route Segment MR-1, long-term disturbance to special status species potential habitat would occur to 12.5 acres of suitable, 12.8 acres of marginal, and 8.6 acres of unsuitable habitat. RDFs described above for Route Segment 1a/NNR-1 and Impacts Common for All Route Segments (Section 4.2.3) would be implemented during construction and maintenance of Route Segment MR-1 to minimize impacts to special status plants. With the implementation of RDFs, impacts to special status plant species, potential suitable habitat and priority ecosystems are anticipated to include 2.5 miles of no identifiable, 4.9 miles of low impacts, and 4.5 miles of moderate impacts. 4.2.5 Mitigation Measures and Residual Impacts The RDFs and environmental protection measures described in Section 2.3 (Required Design Features Common to Action Alternatives) would be incorporated into the Project design and would be implemented during construction and operation of the proposed Project. These measures are designed to avoid or minimize environmental impacts from Project construction, operation, and maintenance activities and are items that Pacific Power has committed to implement as part of the Project development. If desired biological objectives are not achieved for vegetation with the existing RDFs, additional mitigation measures may be implemented. Additionally, a Framework for Development of a Greater Sage-Grouse Compensatory Mitigation Plan (Framework) was developed to address the residual impacts (i.e., the unavoidable impacts) to the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; Sage- Grouse) which may result from the construction maintenance, and operation of the proposed Project. The Framework is intended to facilitate Pacific Power’s development of a Greater Sage-Grouse Compensatory Mitigation Plan (CMP). With the development and implementation of the CMP, Pacific Power will be taking the necessary steps to compensate for the Project’s residual impacts and to achieve net conservation gain for the species and its habitat.