F-22 Plus-Up Environmental Assessment - Joint Base Elmendorf ...

F-22 Plus-Up Environmental Assessment
3.0 Affected Environment
Peregrine falcon and gray-cheeked thrush migrate through the area and may be occasionally
observed (Air Force 2000). Peregrine falcons nest on cliffs, generally over water, but these
features do not occur at JBER-Elmendorf. Peregrines may, however, use riparian and wetland
areas on the base to hunt for prey, such as waterfowl. The gray-cheeked thrush breeds in moist
coniferous forests and woodlands, arctic tundra, and riparian thickets. It is a habitat generalist
on migration (Ehrlich et al. 1988), and therefore could occur in various habitats at JBER-
Elmendorf. Townsend’s warbler, another coniferous forest inhabitant, may also occur on base.
The rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), a Bird Species of Conservation Concern (USFWS 2008),
also breeds on JBER (personal communication, Koenen 2011) where it uses wet woodlands and
swamps. A variety of shorebirds categorized as Bird Species of Conservation Concern (USFWS
2008) migrate through JBER. These include lesser yellowlegs, solitary sandpiper, whimbrel,
bristle-thighed curlew, and Hudsonian godwit (personal communication, Koenen 2011).
3.6.2 Training Airspace Existing Conditions
Biological resources under the existing F-22 training airspace include vegetation and habitat,
wetlands, fish and wildlife, and special-status species. Section 3.6.1 describes these resources
and lists the species occurring on JBER. The ROI for training airspace in Alaska includes all
lands under the MOAs, ATCAAs, Restricted Areas, and Warning Areas currently used by the F-
22s at JBER-Elmendorf.
Existing training airspace used by F-22s at JBER-Elmendorf occurs primarily in MOAs and
ATCAAs. Depending on the MOA and overlying ATCAA, training may currently be
authorized from 500 feet AGL to above 60,000 feet MSL. The F-22 rarely (2 percent or less) flies
below 5,000 feet AGL. In some MOAs, supersonic flight is authorized and occurs about 25
percent of the F-22 training time. The F-22 operates between 10,000 and 30,000 feet MSL 25
percent of the time and greater than 30,000 feet MSL 70 percent of the time (see Table 2.2-2). W-
612 is infrequently used for F-22 training. MTRs are not used for F-22 training.
Vegetation. The existing training airspace overlies the Upland Tundra and Boreal Forest
ecoregions (Bailey 1995). Predominant land cover types are forests (60 percent), fields (17
percent), and tundra (15 percent) (Air Force 2001a). Forest types are largely evergreen and
mixed conifer/deciduous. Over 8.1 million acres of special use areas occur under these MOAs.
This includes National Wildlife Refuges under the Galena and Yukon 2, 4, and 5 MOAs and
Denali National Park and Preserve under portions of the Susitna MOA, which are discussed in
Section 3.8, Land Use.
In Alaska, wetlands cover over 43 percent of the state’s land, in contrast with the lower 48
states, where they occupy 5.2 percent. About 1,952,000 acres of aquatic habitats and wetlands
occur under the existing training airspace (Air Force 2001a). Wetland types under the airspace
are largely deciduous, evergreen, and mixed forest wetlands.
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