Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Final Environmental Impact Statement: Specialist Report for Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitats and Species

摘要

This specialist report provides the background and analysis for the affected environment and environmental consequences of the alternatives analyzed in detail for the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), November 2000. It describes the assumptions, the information and data, and the methodology used in the analysis of effects to terrestrial and aquatic habitats and species and overall biodiversity which is summarized and disclosed in Chapter 3 of the FEIS. Biodiversity is the variety and abundance of species, their genetic composition, their communities, and the ecosystems and landscapes of which they are a part (Wilson 1988$ Adams and others 2000). The United States has a rich heritage of native biodiversity, due in large part to its great topographic and climatic diversity. Nearly 16,000 species of the worlds vascular plants are found within the United States, as well as about 10% of freshwater fish species and 9% of mammal species (Adams and others 2000). Current rates and distributional patterns of species endangerment and extinction indicate that the biodiversity of the United States has been adversely impacted from human activities and is at risk of additional substantial loss in many parts of the country. Potential effects to species and to overall biodiversity from this project were determined by considering the kinds and numbers of species potentially affected, identifying the important and sometimes unique characteristics of roadless areas that foster biodiversity, and evaluating the potential adverse and beneficial effects of road construction and timber harvest on those characteristics. These effects were analyzed for terrestrial animal species and habitats, aquatic animal species and habitats, terrestrial and aquatic plants, and threatened, endangered, proposed and sensitive (TEPS) species. Potential cumulative effects of the alternatives were addressed by considering land use and land conversion trends$ laws, regulations, and policies that affect biodiversity$ and invasion and establishment of nonnative species. This analysis demonstrated that conservation of inventoried roadless areas through application of the prohibition alternatives would provide important protection of native biodiversity and overall ecosystem health. Many of these areas function as biological strongholds for terrestrial and aquatic species, including numerous threatened, endangered, proposed and sensitive (TEPS) species.