T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationThe American eel (Anguilla rostrata), formerly a candidate for federal listing, is found within the Project Area.RIDEM DFW fisheries data provide records for American eel in several waterways and water bodies associatedwith the Project Area: Buckeye Brook, Tuscatucket Brook, Spring Green Pond, and Spring Green Pond Brook;and Study Area: Warwick Pond, Gorton Pond, and Little Pond. 225 American eel is a catadromous fish species withmultiple life stages that migrate from freshwater to the ocean to spawn. The American eel requires various habitatsover their lifespan, including open oceans, large coastal tributaries, small freshwater streams, lakes, and ponds. 226If present, the American eel is likely to use the Buckeye Brook watershed for the upstream and downstreammovement into and out of Warwick and Spring Green Ponds, to the estuarine freshwater-saltwater interface, andNarragansett Bay.One insect species listed by the state as threatened, the pine barrens tiger beetle (Cicindela formosa), is known tooccur within the Project Area. 227 Though small and isolated by encroaching urban development, suitable habitatfor the pine barrens tiger beetle is present. A deeply sculpted outwash terrace juts northwestward into thefloodplain swamp associated with Buckeye Brook in the southeastern corner of the Airport property. Thispeninsula supports a remnant pine barren community dominated by pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and scrub oak(Quercus ilicifolia). This cover type was once more common in the Study Area. A small population of this specieswas observed on June 13, 2006 and again on August 17, 2006 by wildlife biologists from the RIDEM DFW. Thepopulation was very small, consisting of three or four individuals. 228 It is not known if the existing population islarge enough to remain viable. In the event of a local extinction, the absence of suitable habitat supportingpopulations of this species would preclude potential recolonization.The airfield provides potentially suitable habitat for a number of regionally rare grassland bird species, includingthe upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), and grasshopper sparrow(Ammodramus savannarum). These bird species are rare at the state level but have no special federal status beyondthe normal protection afforded all migratory birds. 229 As a group, grassland bird species require large expanses ofshort grass (up to two feet in height) habitat. 230 Grassland bird species were surveyed for this FEIS and through a2004-2005 study. 231 No state-listed grassland bird species were observed within the Project Area.The sickle-leaved golden aster (Pityopsis falcata), a state species of concern, was identified during an inspectionof the pine barren community in the southeastern corner of the Airport (Figure 4-29). In September 2006, a smallpopulation, approximately 12 plants, was observed in this area. A single flowering individual plant was notedduring the inspection. This species was found growing in loose sands near the Airport perimeter fence.225 A Preliminary Summary of Fish Surveys That Were Conducted in Rhode Island’s Streams and Ponds Between 1993 and 2002. Rhode Island Departmentof Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife. Alan D. Libby, May 2004.226 Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 128, July 6, 2005.227 Personal communication with Christopher Raithel, DFW, September 21, 2006.228 Ibid.229 Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Fish and Wildlife correspondence, September 25, 2001.230 Grasslands of Northeastern North America: Ecology and Conservation of Native and Agricultural Landscapes, Vickery, Peter D. and Dunwiddie Peter W.Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, MA. 1997.231 Buckeye Brook Habitat Improvement/ Restoration Program T.F. Green Airport, Natural Resource Services, Inc. December 3, 2004 and Habitat Suitabilityof Buckeye Brook for River Herring at T. F. Green Airport, Natural Resource Services, Inc. Warwick, Rhode Island. February 9, 2006.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-62 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc