West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

handled, and number accidentally killed during construction of the 101 projects.Table 3-4Numbers Of Tortoises Handled And Accidentally Killed During Construction Of 101Federally Authorized Projects In California Between 1990 And 1995PROJECT TYPE PROJECTS TORTOISES DEAD TOTOISESChapter 3 3-35HANDLEDPipeline 19 583 38Transmission Line 15 227 7Military 7 14 5Mining 19 59 2Highway 10 16 1Tract/Parcel 13 13 0Programmatic 13 5 0Miscellaneous 2 2 0Landfill 2 0 0Hazardous Materials 1 0 0Total 101 919 53This summary shows that long, linear projects (transmission lines and pipelines) wereresponsible for most of the harassment and mortality take of tortoises in California. Althoughthese two project types comprised only a third of the authorized projects (34 of 101 projects),they were responsible for 88% of the harassment take (810 of 919 tortoises handled) and 85% ofthe mortality take (45 of 53 tortoises accidentally killed). The study also identified the federallead agencies associated with these 101 projects, as summarized in Appendix L.BLM Consultation Procedures: Actions undertaken by, or permitted by, the BLM arefederal actions that may require informal or formal consultation under Section 7 with theUSFWS. BLM’s consultation procedures are described below, using a crude oil pipelineproposal as an example.A project proponent wishing to install a pipeline across public lands is required to obtaina right-of-way grant from the BLM. The proponent may also be required to obtain additionalpermits and authorizations from other federal agencies (e.g. Corps of Engineers). The federalagencies jointly identify a federal lead agency, usually the entity with the highest level ofinvolvement. In the case of a crude oil pipeline crossing significant miles of public lands, BLMis likely to be identified as the federal lead agency. This can be the case even if the projectproponent is a private entity and some or most of the lands crossed are private lands.Both take authorization and compensation are based on the entire alignment, regardless ofland ownership. In the case of the 70-mile Morongo Basin water pipeline, constructed betweenHesperia and Landers in the mid-1990s, the biological opinion applied to the entire projectalthough the alignment crossed fewer than five linear miles of BLM land. Tortoises wereauthorized to be moved out of harm’s way, the proponent was obligated to revegetate all nonaccessareas within the right-of-way, and compensation was based on the width of the newlyimpacted area multiplied by the 70-mile length, which included private lands.Based on presence-absence survey results and other available information submitted by