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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences PAGE 4-114 Black-tailed jackrabbit has been documented within one mile of Route Segment NNR-7. Potential impacts include a reduction and degradation of habitat, disturbance and displacement from habitats, increase in 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 0.8 mile. A Merriam’s shrew was documented within 1.0 mile of Route Segment NNR-7 in 1954, demonstrating potential for Merriam’s shrews to exist within 1.0 mile of Route Segment NNR-7. Potential impacts include habitat loss, habitat degradation, injury or mortality due to crushing by construction equipment or vehicles, and increased predation from avian predators. RDFs would be implemented to minimize impacts, as described in Sections 4.3.3.1 and 4.3.3.2. No identifiable impacts are anticipated. The south slopes of the Saddle Mountains have been identified as a mule deer regular large concentration area. While the PHS data does not specify a season of use for this area, the south-facing sagebrush-steppe slopes are probably heavily used during winter. This area comes within approximately 0.9 mile for a short stretch of the route segment. 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. Because Route Segment NNR-7 is never less than 0.9 mile from the designated concentration area, no identifiable impacts are anticipated to occur to mule deer through construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed Project. All of the habitat disturbance associated with Route Segment NNR-7 would be located within the Regularly Occupied Habitat MU for Sage-Grouse. Construction activities would disturb less than one percent of Regularly Occupied Habitat (Tables 4.3-7). Anticipated ground disturbance includes 38.1 acres classified as suitable Sage-Grouse habitat (Table 4.3-8). In 2014, a 23,261-acre fire burned the majority of Route Segment NNR-7. Because perennial bunchgrasses typically recover quickly after a fire and sagebrush typically recovers much more slowly, currently much of the route segment is probably perennial grassland rather than shrubland—though depending on burn severity, over the next several years to several decades the sagebrush cover will likely return. Considering the recent burn and the implementation of RDFs (Sections 4.3.3.1 and 4.3.3.2), habitat impact levels are anticipated to be low for 7.1 miles and moderate for 1.1 miles. Existing perching, roosting, and nesting sites for avian predators are available along Route Segment NNR-7 from buildings, trees, and fences associated with developed areas and existing distribution and 230 kV H-frame transmission lines. Construction of Route Segment NNR-7 would require an estimated 61 new structures; all would be 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 NNR-7 ROW corridor (Figure 3.3-4). No active leks are known to occur within 4.0 miles of Route Segment NNR-7 (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 NNR-7 is anticipated to be low for the entire route segment (8.2 miles). 4.3.4.17 Route Segment NNR-8 Approximately 10 acres of long-term and 3.2 acres of short-term disturbance would occur through the construction of Route Segment NNR-8. Permanently disturbed areas would include 8.9 acres of sagebrush/perennial grassland and 0.5 acre of sagebrush/annual grassland (Table 4.3-4). Annual