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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences PAGE 4-96 through collision with transmission line infrastructure. Route Segment 3a is expected to have no identifiable impacts to waterfowl or aquatic bird species. Black-tailed jackrabbit has been documented within one mile of Route Segment 3a. Potential impacts include a reduction and degradation of habitat, disturbance and displacement from habitats, increased predation from avian predators, increased human activity, introduction and spread of noxious weeds, and injury or mortality due to collision with construction equipment. RDFs to address the impacts are described in Sections 4.3.3.1 and 4.3.3.2. Impact levels to black-tailed jackrabbits are expected to be moderate for the 0.1-mile route segment. A mule deer regular concentration area has been identified on Wanapum Bench within one mile of Route Segment 3a, immediately north of the Vantage Substation. The PHS data indicates year-round use of this area. This area comes within approximately 0.1 mile of the route segment, but does not intersect the route segment’s ROW corridor. Potential impacts to mule deer include habitat loss, habitat degradation from the spread of invasive weeds, collision with vehicles during construction and maintenance, and disturbance during construction and maintenance. Mule deer are most likely to be impacted by disturbance during winter when increased energy expenditure may lower survival. Adherence to seasonal restrictions from December 1 to March 1 on construction activities within the designated concentration area should minimize disturbance impacts to mule deer. No identifiable impacts are anticipated to occur to mule deer through construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed Project. All habitat disturbance associated with Route Segment 3a would be located within the Occasionally Occupied Habitat MU for Sage-Grouse. Construction activities would not disturb any Regularly Occupied Habitat (Table 4.3-7). All anticipated ground disturbance (1.2 acres) would be in suitable Sage-Grouse habitat (Table 4.3-8). With the implementation of RDFs (Sections 4.3.3.1 and 4.3.3.2), the scale of disturbance and degradation to Sage-Grouse habitat is anticipated to be moderate for the 0.1-mile route segment. Existing perching, roosting, and nesting sites for avian predators are available along Route Segment 3a from buildings, trees, and fences associated with developed areas and existing distribution and 230 kV H- frame transmission lines. Construction of Route Segment 3a would require an estimated three structures, but none of the structures would be located greater than 0.25 located within 0.25 mile of an existing transmission line (Table 4.3-5). The estimated Sage-Grouse population range does not overlap the Route Segment 3a ROW (Figure 3.3-4). No active leks are known to occur within four miles of Route Segment 3a (Table 4.3-6). With the implementation of RDFs (Sections 4.3.3.1 and 4.3.3.2), impacts to lekking Sage-Grouse associated with the construction of Route Segment 3a is anticipated to be low for the 0.1-mile route segment. 4.3.4.9 Route Segment 3b The majority of disturbance for this route segment would occur on developed land, primarily occurring within an abandoned railroad ROW corridor. The remaining part of Route Segment 3b is a mixture of high quality sagebrush with a diverse forb layer, sagebrush adjacent to agriculture, a watered poplar wind row, basalt cliffs, and a seasonally moist alkaline swale habitat resulting from cliff runoff. Fire history records indicate that large portions of Route Segment 3b have burned since the late 1980s, including a large fire that burned much of the northern part of the route segment in 2014. Approximately 58.1 acres of long-term and 47.7 acres of short-term disturbance would occur through the construction of Route Segment 3b. Most of the permanently disturbed areas would be sagebrush/perennial grassland (25.3 acres) and disturbed ground (21.5 acres). Other long-term disturbance includes 7.1 acres of trees and 0.4 acres of riparian wetland. Short-term disturbance would primarily be on ground that is already disturbed (42.3 acres; Table 4.3-4). RDFs would be implemented to minimize habitat loss and