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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences PAGE 4-69 control methods. These may include straw wattles, straw bale barriers, and silt fencing which would be placed at construction boundaries. Specific erosion and sediment control measures and locations would be specified in a SWPPP. The implementation of RDFs is anticipated to be effective at eliminating impacts to steelhead. No identifiable impacts to steelhead or its habitat are anticipated to occur through construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed Project. 4.3.3.4 Greater Sage-Grouse Potential impacts to Sage-Grouse are analyzed and discussed at length in Appendix B-5 - Sage-Grouse Analysis and Mitigation Report and summarized in this section. Potential impacts to Sage-Grouse include: 1) habitat loss and degradation; 2) collision with infrastructure or construction vehicles; 3) increased predation due to increased perching and nesting opportunities for avian predators; 4) disturbance and displacement due to temporary human presence; 5) behavioral avoidance of infrastructure; and 6) impeded habitat connectivity. Many of the potential impacts to Sage-Grouse are similar for other wildlife species and were introduced and discussed at length above. The Sage-Grouse- specific implications of these impacts are briefly discussed below. Habitat loss and degradation is discussed above in Section 4.3.3.1, collision, predation, and disturbance are discussed above in Section 4.3.3.2. Avoidance of infrastructure and impeded connectivity are introduced and discussed specifically for Sage-Grouse in the following paragraphs. While the RDFs and environmental protection measures described in Section 2.3 - RDFs Common to Action Alternatives will avoid and minimize much of the impact to Sage-Grouse, it will not be possible to avoid all impacts. Residual impacts to Sage-Grouse and compensatory mitigation will be analyzed and quantified using methodology described in the Framework for Development of a Sage-Grouse Compensatory Mitigation Plan (Appendix B-6; Framework). Principles developed by the interagency Sage-Grouse Subgroup and described in the Framework will guide Pacific Power’s development of the Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project Greater Sage-Grouse Compensatory Mitigation Plan to ensure that the compensatory mitigation will achieve a net conservation gain for Sage-Grouse and its habitat. Sage-Grouse Habitat Loss and Degradation As discussed in Section 4.3.3.1, construction of the proposed Project could result in degradation and loss of wildlife habitat through direct removal of vegetation or through indirect alteration of vegetation (potential habitat) through the spread of invasive weeds or altered fire regimes. Invasive weeds and fires are often interrelated because non-native plants, particularly cheatgrass, often create a more continuous fuel source than native bunchgrasses, resulting in shorter intervals between occurrence of wildfires (Brown 2000; Paysen et al. 2000). The Washington Sage-Grouse Recovery Plan (Stinson et al. 2004; Recovery Plan) and the range wide USFWS 12-Month Findings for Petitions to List the Greater Sage-Grouse as Threatened or Endangered (USFWS 2010a) identify habitat loss and degradation from large-scale fires as the primary threat to remaining Sage-Grouse populations. The Recovery Plan states that fire prevention is critical to maintain Sage-Grouse populations on the JBLM YTC (Stinson et al. 2004). Specific RDFs anticipated to be effective at minimizing habitat loss and degradation are discussed in Section 4.3.3.1. Potential mitigation actions to compensate for residual habitat loss and degradation impacts are described in Appendix B-6 - Framework for Development of a Sage-Grouse Compensatory Mitigation Plan. Sage-Grouse Collision As discussed in Section 4.3.3.2, injury or mortality could occur to Sage-Grouse from collisions or interactions with construction and maintenance equipment and the operation of transmission line infrastructure. Because research data on Sage-Grouse collisions with transmission lines are minimal, the number of Sage-Grouse collisions with transmission lines is difficult to evaluate (Johnson and Holloran 2010). A study in Idaho that outfitted 58 juvenile Sage-Grouse with radio transmitters, found 2 of the 11 mortalities observed (18 percent) resulted from collisions with a transmission line; however, the study