3.0 Affected Environment - Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority

Knik Arm Crossing DraftFinal EIS
Affected Environment
dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus), Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago gallinago), spotted sandpiper
(Actitis macularia), and least sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) (Rothe et al. 1983; Scher 1993;
West 2002; USGS n.d.). Belted kingfishers (Ceryle alcyon) utilize both the freshwater
habitats and the waters of Knik Arm (KABATA 2006s).
The diversity of freshwater habitat in the Anchorage portion of the Study Area is generally
similar to that of the Mat-Su portion of the Study Area; the habitat may have been degraded,
however, by development or proximity to development. Bird species utilizing these areas are
similar.
3.8.8.3.2 Terrestrial birds
The Mat-Su and Anchorage
Terrestrial bird habitats in the project area include the common vegetation communities, such
as closed and open mixed needleleaf/deciduous forest and woodlands, tall shrub communities
of Sitka alder and willow, herbaceous meadows, and agricultural and developed areas.
Barren and vegetated coastal bluffs along Knik Arm also provide habitat for birds.
Terrestrial bird species are expected to be similar between the east and west sides of Knik
Arm and include both resident and migrant species (Scher 1993; West 2002; Andres 2005).
Of the approximately 98 bird species that occur in the Study Area, 14 species are year-round
residents and 44 are confirmed breeders (Roush and Andres 1994). Roughly 40 species of
songbirds, or passerines, and neotropical migratory birds 53 inhabit terrestrial habitats of the
Study Area. Some of the common types include raptors (hawks and owls), woodpeckers,
flycatchers, swallows, corvids (crow family), chickadees and kinglets, thrushes, warblers,
sparrows, and finches. The primary upland game bird is the spruce grouse (Falcipennis
canadensis), although the ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) has been introduced to the Goose
Bay area. 54
3.8.8.3.3 Marine birds
Knik Arm
Marine bird habitats in the KAC Study Area include estuarine open water habitats of Knik
Arm, intertidal unconsolidated sand/gravel beaches and mud flats, and a small area estuarine
salt marsh north of the POA. 55
Marine birds include species that nest on land but forage in marine waters at least part of the
year. Based on field surveys of Knik Arm bird use conducted for the proposed KAC project
in April–September 2005 (KABATA 20056s), small numbers of loons, grebes, waterfowl,
53 Neotropical migratory birds are those species that nest in the United States and Canada during the summer,
then migrate south to the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean for the
nonbreeding season.
54 Personal communication, Steen, N. Retired Wildlife Biologist, ADF&G, with R. Raymond, September 2005.
55 This wetland area is permitted to be filled during Phase I of the POA Expansion Project under the
U.S. Department of the Army.
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