Hnt'k'wipn 2005 Habitat Evaluation Procedure Report.

Abstract

The construction of Albeni Falls Dam was completed in 1955. Prior to construction, the dam was expected to alter approximately 6,300 acres. However, the loss assessment addressed the losses in terms of Habitat Units (HUs) (Martin et al. 1988). HUs are derived by multiplying the Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) by the number of acres in question. The HSI, in turn, is an index to the habitat carrying capacity for a specific species or guild of species based on a set of habitat performance measures and can be used to assess changes, both positive and negative, in habitat quantity and quality (USFWS 1980, 1980a). The HSI is derived though a HEP that is completed according to species or guild specific models. Variables defined in the models are measured on the landscape; and those measured values are rated according to the model to produce an index to the habitat's suitability. The HSI index ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. An HSI of 0.3 indicates that habitat quality/carrying capacity is marginal while an HSI of 0.7 suggests that habitat quality/carrying capacity is relatively good. Thus an acre of optimum habitat (HSI = 1.0) results in 1 HU. The construction and inundation of Albeni Fallsmore » Dam resulted in a loss of 28,587 HUs. This HU ledger was the sum of the losses for each of the chosen target species, which were 5,985 mallard HUs, 4,699 Canada goose HUs, 3,379 redhead HUs, 4,508 breeding bald eagle HUs, 4,365 wintering bald eagle HUs, 2,286 black-capped chickadee HUs, 1,680 white tailed deer HUs, and 1,756 muskrat HUs. The PACIFIC NORTHWEST ELECTRIC POWER PLANNING AND CONSERVATION ACT (1980) made mitigating against the HU ledger associated with the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS), of which Albeni Falls is a part, the responsibility of BPA. The Act also established the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC), which is responsible for, among other things, establishing the Fish and Wildlife Program to direct the mitigation process. The Bonneville Power Administration funded the acquisition of the mitigation properties covered in this baseline HU assessment in accordance with the NPCC's Fish and Wildlife Program and is due the appropriate HU crediting for both protecting and enhancing that area. The mitigation property is composed of three separate property acquisitions completed in the southern portion of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation (Figure 1). These acreages are contiguous (Figure 2) and were targeted because of their potential instream, wetland and riparian habitats. The 909 acre Hanson Property was purchased fee title in December of 2004 and includes the northern and southern most parcels. The 159.7 acre Allotment 331 was purchased in February of 2005 and lies along Hangman Creek and includes the majority of the forested land. Allotments 1021, 333A and 333B, which were acquired in September of 2005, lie along Hangman Creek upstream of Allotment 331 and are 160 acres, 80 acres and 75 acres respectively. The Allotments remain in Trust but are now held by the Department of Interior for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe rather than for individual Tribal members. Approximately 174.8 acres (acreage determined by Coeur d'Alene Tribal GIS) of the Hanson Property lies south and west of U.S. Highway 95. These 174.8 acres encompass uplands along with a farmstead that includes a dwelling, several shops, storage sheds and a loft barn. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe decided at the time of purchase not to retain those uplands in the mitigation program since uplands and residential areas are not suitable to the Albeni Falls Wildlife Mitigation Program. This baseline HU assessment encompasses only the contiguous acreages that lie north and east of U.S. Highway 95. This report is a summary of the 2005 baseline Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) conducted on the 1,195.2 acres (as determined from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's GIS database) of hnt'k'wipn surrounding the confluence of Sheep Creek and Hangman Creeks on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. The Bonneville Power Administration was guaranteed a minimum of 364 protection HUs for the purchase of this area by the Albeni Falls Work Group. This HEP was conducted to document extant HU values of the habitats within the property as a basis for initiating a management plan and to evaluate the full potential of the area to credit against the Albeni Falls Dam construction and inundation ledger (Martin et al. 1988). The Regional HEP Team completed the field mensuration on the property in June of 2005 and this report summarizes the results of that data gathering effort.« less