St. Johns/New Madrid RSEIS - Endangered Species & Wetlands ...

Additionally, the Corps did not calculate benefits to mid-season fish rearing habitat from
the construction of borrow pits required for the Setback Levee grade raise in the 2002
RSEIS (refer to Section 2.6.1.7 of this RSEIS 2). In this RSEIS 2, the Corps has
quantified benefits to mid-season fish rearing habitat by the construction of 387 acres of
modified borrow pits.
For the purpose of this RSEIS 2, compensatory mitigation is divided into two categories:
(1) Basic Mitigation Feature – Entails most of the compensatory
mitigation features that were developed during the 2002 RSEIS.
Additionally, the basic mitigation feature entails the construction
of modified borrow pits. The basic mitigation feature fully
compensates all significant resource categories except the New
Madrid Floodway mid-season fish rearing habitat.
(2) Additional Techniques – Options that compensate for impacts to
New Madrid Floodway mid-season fish rearing habitat that are not
compensated by the basic mitigation feature.
2.6.1 Basic Mitigation Feature
The basic mitigation feature incorporates most of the mitigation features that were
described in the 2002 RSEIS, stipulated in the WQ Certification, and summarized in
Section 2.2 (Figure 1). The 2002 RSEIS recommended several additional measures for
which benefits to mid-season fish rearing habitat were not quantified. Costs were
calculated for these additional measures. The benefits to mid-season fish rearing habitat
from these additional measures are included and quantified in the basic mitigation feature
in this RSEIS 2.
The basic mitigation feature entails acquisition of real property interests through purchase
of fee title or restrictive easements from willing sellers on a minimum of 7,121 actual
acres of land to fully compensate the unavoidable impacts to terrestrial wildlife,
waterfowl, shorebirds, the direct losses to wetlands, indirect losses to farmed wetlands,
and a reduction of backwater flooding to prior converted cropland. The 7,121 actual
acres of lands are included as part of the following measures that have been retained from
the 2002 RSEIS:
• Reforest 3,619 acres of cropland (this measure would result in gains to
terrestrial wildlife, waterfowl, and mid-season fish rearing habitat).
• Construct 765 acres of modified moist soil units on farmland (this measure
would result in gains to shorebirds, waterfowl, and potentially to mid-season
fish rearing habitat).
• Plant vegetative buffer strips on 671 acres of New Madrid Floodway channels
(this measure would result in gains to terrestrial wildlife, waterfowl, and midseason
fish rearing habitat).
Draft RSEIS 2
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