Appendix F Detailed Cover Type Tables - USDA Rural Development

Bemidji – Grand Rapids
Biological Assessment and Evaluation
2.3.6 Characteristics of the Project Routes
The following table presents a summary of the design and environmental characteristics for each route.
Table 2‐1. Summary Characteristics of Route Alternatives 1, 2, and 3*
Issue Route 1 Alternative Route 2 Alternative Route 3 Alternative
Length 68 miles 69 miles 116 miles
Existing Linear
Infrastructure
66.2 miles follow Great
Lakes pipeline, existing
transmission and existing
rail
63.8 miles follow US 2,
existing transmission,
existing pipelines and
existing rail
New Corridor Required 1.8 miles 5.2 miles 1.6 miles
New Easement Required 1,032 ac 1,045 ac 1,672 ac
114.4 miles follow existing
transmission, existing
pipelines and existing
roads
Stream/River Crossings** 7 Public Water crossings 12 Public Water crossings 21 Public Water crossings
Wetland Landcover (NWI) 225 ac 292 ac 420 ac
Forested Landcover 439 ac 579 ac 863 ac
CNF – federally owned
property
State Forest – state
owned property
Leech Lake Reservation
(including LLBO
treaty/trust lands)
Previously CNF, DRM and
DNR documented
threatened, endangered
or species of concern
w/in Route***
284 ac 348 ac 353 ac
154 ac 160 ac 154 ac
660 ac 662 ac 3 ac
5 DNR listed, 9 DRM listed
and 6 CNF listed
* Based on typical 125‐foot‐wide rights‐of‐way.
** MN DNR Division of Waters Public Waters Inventory
***Compiled from the MN DNR NHIS and CNF TES Observations databases.
7 DNR listed, 12 DRM
listed and 10 CNF listed
13 DNR listed, 14 DRM
listed and 16 CNF listed
2.4 Physical Characteristics of the Study Area
The Study Area includes portions of four counties in northern Minnesota: Cass, Itasca, Hubbard, and
Beltrami counties (Figure 1). The Study Area is mostly forestland and a number of water bodies,
including large lakes and numerous streams and creeks. Elevations in the Study Area range between
1,250 and 1,450 feet above sea level. The Study Area includes a number of cities and townships and
spans the borders of the LLR and CNF.
The topography in the Study Area is associated with the most recent period of glaciation, which
occurred approximately 15,000 years ago. Moraines, kames, eskers, and depressional wetlands/lakes
are examples of topographic glacial features.
According to the Minnesota DNR’s Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota, the Study
Area is located entirely within the Northern Minnesota Drift and Lake Plains Ecological Section (MDL)
July 2010 Description of the Proposed Action Page 2‐9