Volume 2: Draft Gorst Planned Action Environmental Impact Statement

GORST PLANNED ACTION EIS | AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS, AND MITIGATION MEASURESTerrestrial MammalsThree sensitive species of bat potentially occur within the Gorst Creek Watershed: long-eared myotis, long-leggedmyotis, and Pacific Townsend’s big-eared bat. These bat species occur in a variety of habitats, including forests andriparian wetlands that are found in the Gorst Creek Watershed. They roost in a variety of places, including trees,caves, and built structures (Woodruff and Ferguson 2005). All three species are likely to be found in the watershed.Marine MammalsMarine mammals that occur in Puget Sound may make their way into the Sinclair Inlet. These include sea ottersand various seals, sea lions, porpoises, and whales. All marine mammals are protected under the Marine MammalProtection Act of 1972, which prohibits (with certain exceptions) the “take” of marine mammals in U.S. waters.Commonly occurring marine mammals in Puget Sound include Pacific harbor seal, California sea lion, Steller sealion, northern elephant seal, Southern Resident killer whale, harbor and Dall’s porpoises, and Minke and Graywhales.Humpback Whale – humpback whales typically occur at higher latitudes in the summer and lower latitudes in thewinter. While humpback whales were seen very rarely in Puget Sound through the late, 1990s, sightings of thisspecies have increased in recent decades, although they are still infrequent (Falcone et al. 2005). Therefore thisendangered species could potentially occur occasionally in Sinclair Inlet.Northern Sea Otter – Northern sea otters are predominantly a coastal species, occurring along the northernWashington coast and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There is minimal evidence for historic occurrence of northernsea otters in Puget Sound, and recent sightings of the species in Puget Sound have been of isolated individuals,near Olympia (Lance et al. 2004). Therefore, this species is unlikely to occur in Sinclair Inlet.Southern Resident Killer Whale – the Southern Resident DPS of killer whale, which is listed as endangered at thefederal and state level, resides in the inland waterways of Washington, including the Puget Sound, from spring tofall (Ford et al. 2000, Krahn et al. 2002). This species is likely to be found in Sinclair Inlet, which is designatedcritical habitat for the species.Steller Sea Lion – Steller sea lions reside year-round along the outer coast of Washington, and are associated witha variety of terrestrial and marine habitats (National Marine Fisheries Service 2008). The species also occurs in thePuget Sound. No Steller sea lion rookeries occur in Washington, however, they may haul out on jetties, offshorerocks, and coastal islands. Occasionally, they haulout on navigation buoys in Puget Sound (WDFW 2000).FishChinook Salmon. Fall Chinook salmon occur in portions of Gorst Creek, Heins Creek, and Parish Creek, as well as inthe Sinclair Inlet. Gorst Creek provides known spawning and juvenile rearing habitat, and Heins and Parish creeksprovide known spawning habitat (WDFW 2013a). These stretches of stream are mapped as critical habitat forChinook salmon. Juvenile fish originating in the Gorst Creek Hatchery comprise a large proportion of juvenilesalmon in the study area, although fish from wild stocks are also present. Juvenile salmon from 14 differentwatersheds and as far away as the Fraser River in Canada have been documented in the Sinclair Inlet. Designatedcritical habitat for Chinook salmon occurs within the Gorst UGA, in portions of Gorst Creek, Parish Creek, and HeinsCreekSteelhead Trout. Winter steelhead are ocean-maturing fish that spawn in freshwater systems between Novemberand April. Spawning habitat consists of gravel substrates free of excessive silt (NOAA Fisheries Office of ProtectedResources 2013). Steelhead trout occur in portions of Gorst Creek, Parish Creek, and Jarstad Creek, as well as theSinclair Inlet. Spawning has been documented in Gorst Creek. In January, 2013, the National Marine FisheriesService proposed designating critical habitat for Puget Sound steelhead, which is currently federally listed as athreatened species, in portions of Gorst, Parish, and Heins creeks within the watershed.Draft | June 2013 3-62