HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEVEN GENERATIONS (FORMERLY EASTBROOK) OFFICE PARK - PDP - 4-06 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTstaff to determine if the Fossil Creek 100-foot setback requirement would apply to the Foothills Basin
Stormwater Channel.
6.0 REFERENCES CITED
Armstrong, D.M., M.E. Bakeman, N.W. Clippinger, A. Deans, M. Margulies, C.A. Meaney, C. Miller, M.
O'Shea -Stone, T.R. Ryon, and M. Sanders. 1997. Report on habitat findings of the Preble's
meadow jumping mouse. Edited by M.E. Bakeman. Report presented to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. 91 pp.
Federal Register. 1998. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants: proposed threatened status for
the plant, Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis. Federal Register: March 24, 1998 (Volume 63,
Number 56) pp.14060-14065.
Spackman, S., B. Jennings, J. Coles, C. Dawson, M. Minton, A. Kratz, and C. Spurrier. 1997. Colorado
rare plant field guide. Prepared for the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Fort Collins, Colorado.
SCS. 1980. Soil Survey of Larimer County Area, Colorado. Natural Resources Conservation Service
(formerly Soil Conservation Service). U. S. Government Printing Office. Washington, D. C.174 pp. +
maps.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. Interim survey guidelines for Preble's meadow jumping mouse.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, May 19, 1999
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the Cache la Poudre River Corridor to the north and Fossil Creek Reservoir and associated areas of Fort
Collins Open Space to the south, but its value as an unobstructed wildlife movement corridor is restricted
by numerous major road crossings.
(i) The general ecological functions provided by the site and its features are discussed under Section 3.0.
5.0 WILDLIFE MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS
0) & (k) There are no important wildlife habitat or features supported on the project area. The only
important wildlife habitats or features within 500 feet of the property are the wetlands in the railroad right-
of-way and in the Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention Pond area. Neither of these wetlands would be
impacted by development of the project area as long as Best Management Practices are employed to
preclude sediment discharge into the railroad right-of-way wetlands during site construction activities. No
ecological characteristics on the property would require any timing restraints for their protection during
potential development activities.
The City of Fort Collin's requirement for a 100-foot development setback from wetlands greater than 0.3
acre in size would apply to the railroad right-of-way and Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention Pond
wetlands. The project area is well over 100 feet away from the Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention Pond
wetland, but the buffer requirement would extend nearly 100 feet into the project area for some portions of
the railroad right-of-way wetland. Reductions in the 100-foot buffer may be possible if additional mitigation
measures are implemented within the buffer zone that meet the Buffer Zone Performance Standards cited
under Section 3.4.1(E)(1) of the Land Use Code. If a proposed buffer is less than 80 percent, on average,
of the 100-foot requirement, the project would need to be reviewed through Planning and Zoning Board
Review as defined in Section 2.1.1 of the Land Use Code.
Project development would also not infringe upon the railroad right-of-way corridor or the Foothills Basin
Stormwater Channel open space corridor. Currently a 75-foot right-of-way from the centerline of the
railroad is maintained on the east side of the railroad tracks by existing development. Development of the
New Hampshire, Lot 2 would also maintain this 75-foot right-of-way. A Land Use Code requirement of a
50-foot buffer setback may also apply to these potential wildlife movement corridors. However, it may not
make ecological sense to impose an additional 50-foot movement corridor buffer on the New Hampshire,
Lot 2 parcel since all other existing developments along both corridors have no additional setback from
the established corridor or open space areas.
One other possible buffer consideration for the project area is the Land Use Code requirement for 100-
foot setbacks from Fossil Creek and its tributaries. The Foothills Basin Stormwater Channel eventually
empties into the Fossil Creek Reservoir Inlet canal, which empties into Fossil Creek Reservoir. Whether
or not this buffer requirement would apply to a constructed stormwater channel, such as the Foothills
Basin Stormwater Channel, that empties into an artificial canal drainage (Fossil Creek Reservoir Inlet
Canal) is uncertain. It is recommended that consultation occur with City of Fort Collins Natural Resources
10
The Colorado butterfly plant is a short-lived, perennial herb endemic to moist soils in mesic or wet
meadows of floodplain areas in southeastern Wyoming, north -central Colorado, and extreme western
Nebraska. This early to mid-seral stage species occurs primarily in habitats created and maintained by
streams active within their floodplains with vegetation that is relatively open and not overly dense or
overgrown. It is found on subirrigated, alluvial soils of drainage bottoms surrounded by mixed grass
prairie at elevations of 5,000 to 6,400 feet (Spackman et al., 1997, Federal Register, 1998). Populations
of this species are often found in low depressions or along bends in wide, active, meandering stream
channels a short distance upslope of the actual channel. The plant requires early to mid-seral riparian
habitats. Typical habitat is relatively open without dense or overgrown vegetation. It commonly occurs in
communities dominated by redtop (Agrostis stolonifera) and Kentucky bluegrass on wetter sites and by
wild licorice (Glycyn-hiza lepidota), Flodman's thistle (Cirsium flodmanii), curlycup gumweed (Grindelia
squarrosa), and smooth scouring rush (Hippochaete laevigata) on drier sites. These areas are usually
intermediate in moisture between wet, streamside communities dominated by sedges, rushes, and
cattails, and dry shortgrass prairie (Federal Register 1998). Suitable streamside habitats for Colorado
butterfly plant are nonexistent in the project area along the wetlands near the project area.
Habitat for the Ute ladies' -tresses orchid typically consists of seasonally moist soils and wet meadows
near lakes, springs, or perennial streams and their associated floodplains below 6,500 feet. Associated
vegetation species typically include those with a "FACW" Corps of Engineers classification (Equisetum,
Asclepias, Calamagrostis, Solidago, etc. genera) occurring in relatively open and not overly dense,
overgrown, or over -grazed areas. This species prefers comparatively well -drained, high moisture content
wetland soils that are not strongly anaerobic or composed of heavy clays. Conversely, sites consisting
entirely of dense stands of reed canarygrass, those characterized by standing water including
monocultures of cattails or three -square, dense clayey soils, or highly saline soils supporting a dense
community of inland saltgrass (Distichlis stricta) are not considered to be habitat for this species (U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service memorandum: Plants - Spiranthes diluvialis, Ute ladies' -tresses orchid, dated
November 23, 1992). Wetlands supported near the project area are comprised primarily of dense stands
of reed canarygrass, cattail, and Emory sedge that do not create suitable habitat conditions for Ute ladies' -
tresses orchid.
(g) Because of past cultivation of non-native grass pasture over most of the property, there are no special
habitat features present on or near the project area except for the wetlands indicated on Figure 2.
(h) Two potential wildlife movement corridors exist within 500 feet of the project area. One is the Union
Pack Railroad right-of-way and the other is the combination of the Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention
Pond and Foothills Basin Stormwater Channel open space areas. The two stormwater areas provide a
relatively unobstructed open space corridor between the Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention Pond and the
Cache la Poudre River Corridor and associated areas of Fort Collins Open Space to the east. However,
this corridor's value as wildlife habitat is restricted by the fact it is managed and mowed as a turf grass
parkway rather than wildlife habitat. The railroad right-of-way provides an undeveloped corridor between
9
drainages and other sources of surface water. Wetlands and associated open water habitats provide
foraging, resting, and breeding habitat for some urban adapted species of waterfowl such as mallard and
Canada goose. Wetlands with herbaceous and woody vegetation cover also support a variety of other
wildlife populations including small mammals, mammalian predators, songbirds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Larger trees and snags in riparian habitats provide important foraging and/or nesting habitat for
woodpeckers and a variety of songbirds.
4.0 ECOLOGICAL STUDY CHARACTERIZATION CHECKLIST
The following provides a summary of information required by Fort Collins Land Use Code under 3.4.1 (D)
(1) items (a) through (i). Items 0) and (k) are addressed under following section, 5.0 Wildlife Mitigation
Recommendations.
(a) Wildlife use of the area is described in Section 3.0.
(b) As indicated in Section 3.2, there are no wetlands on the project area. Wetlands within 500 feet of the
project area are depicted on Figure 2 and described in Section 3.2.
(c) No significant or prominent views are provided from any areas on the project area.
(d) Because of past conversion of the property for hay production, there are no areas of native vegetation
or trees supported with the project area boundaries. The only areas of native vegetation located within
500 feet of the project area are the two wetland areas described under Section 3.2.
(f) The project area was evaluated with regards to potential habitat for state and federal listed threatened
and endangered species. Wetlands in the railroad right-of-way and in the Nelson Farm Stormwater
Detention Pond area were evaluated with regard for their potential to provide suitable habitat for three
federal listed threatened species, Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei), Colorado
butterfly plant (Gaura neomexicana coloradensis), and Ute ladies' -tresses orchid (Spiranthes diluvialis).
An evaluation of their potential presence is provided in the following paragraphs.
Suitable habitat for the jumping mouse is provided by low undergrowth consisting of grasses, forbs, or
both in open wet meadows and riparian corridors or where tall shrubs and low trees provide adequate
cover. Potential habitat includes wet meadow habitats, native hayfields, stream channels (perennial and
intermittent), riparian habitats, or floodplains below 7,600 feet elevation in Colorado. Saturated wetlands
supporting dense stands of cattail or bulrush do not provide suitable habitat conditions for the jumping
mouse (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1999; Armstrong et al. 1997). Suitable habitat conditions were
judged to be nonexistent for Preble's meadow jumping mouse because nearby wetlands are characterized
by saturated soils and standing water supporting primarily dense stands of cattail and reed canarygrass
and because adjacent habitats are comprised entirely of upland, non-native grasslands instead of moist
native meadow habitats. The project area does not provide any suitable habitat for the jumping mouse.
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Photo 3. View of Wetland Swale in Railroad Right-of-way Adjacent to the West Edge of the
Project Area. (View is from southwest comer of property looking north. Fenceline in
right foreground denotes the western boundary of project area.)
Photo 4. Close-up View of Railroad Right-of-way Wetland. (View is from southeast comer
of wetland looking north. Note the abrupt transition between the wetlands and adjacent
non-native grassland.)
the project area from adjacent Fort Collins Open Space areas and the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way.
Open -country raptors including red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, and great horned owl and mammalian
predators like coyote, striped skunk, and red fox may occasionally hunt non-native grassland habitats.
However, the small size of the project area likely restricts use by these species.
3.2 Wetlands
No evidence of wetland hydrology, soils, or vegetation was encountered within the project area. A narrow
wetland swale does exist within the railroad right-of-way between the western project area boundary and
the railroad embankment as well as within the Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention Pond area to the west
of the railroad right-of-way (see Figure 2). This railroad right-of-way wetland is supported by surface water
flow from five culverts the pass under the railroad embankment and provide drainage for the wetlands and
stormwater detention area west of the railroad right-of-way. Surface water then flows from the railroad
right-of-way wetlands along a concrete -lined drainageway (Foothills Basin Stormwater Channel) through
Fort Collins Open Space (see Figure 2). This channel eventually empties into the Fossil Creek Reservoir
Inlet Canal.
Wetlands in the railroad right-of-way adjacent to the project area are dominated primarily by stands of
reed canarygrass (Phalaroides arundinacea), cattail (Typha latifolia), Emory sedge (Carex emoryii), and
coyote willow (Salix exigua) around the periphery narrow (1 to 2-foot) channel that carries flowing surface
water. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is the dominant vegetation species where surface water is
present. The wetland/upland boundary is defined by a relatively sharp transition from vegetation
dominance by the peripheral wetland species to dense stands of upland vegetation including smooth
brome, Canada thistle, and kochia (Bassia sieversiana). Similar, but more extensive, wetlands are
supported within the Nelson Farm Stormwater Detention Pond area.
The east side of the railroad right-of-way wetland/upland boundary was flagged for survey purposes, but
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sampling and reporting was not completed since the wetlands are not
within the project area and no impacts to the wetlands would occur with project development. The
perimeter of the wetland was walked with a GPS, however, and it was determined that the size of the
wetland is approximately 0.4 acre. Photos 3 and 4 provide representative views of the railroad right-of-
way wetland along the west edge of the project area.
In terms of vegetation and wildlife species diversity, wildlife habitat value, and potential to support sensitive
plant and wildlife species, wetlands in the railroad right-of-way and in the Nelson Farm Stormwater
Detention Pond area west of the railroad right-of-way (see Figure 2) represent the only important or
sensitive habitats within 500 feet of the project area. Wetland habitats are limited in areal extent along the
Front Range and are usually only found in association with perennial and intermittent
59
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Photo 1. View of Non-native Grassland Habitat in the Project Area. (View is from the east -
central edge of property looking southwest)
Photo 2. Another View of Non-native Grassland Habitat in the Project Area. (View is from
southwest comer of property looking northeast.)
No Text
Nunn clay loam is not classified as a hydric (wetland) soil, but it can contain hydric inclusions. The only
evidence of any of the three wetland parameters (hydric soils, wetland hydrology, and wetland vegetation),
required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) for wetland determination, was found within the
adjacent Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way immediately west of the western project area boundary (see
Figure 2). No evidence of wetland presence was found within the project area boundaries.
Existing land uses within the property consist entirely mowed non-native grassland (see Figure 2).
Topography of the site is nearly level and gently sloping to the northeast. Surrounding land uses consist
of commercial and residential properties, Fort Collins Bike Trail and Open Space, roadway, and railroad
right-of-way. The following sections summarize the characteristics of habitats existing on the property and
wildlife use of the area.
3.1 Non-native Grassland
The entire project area supports only non-native grassland. No trees or stands of other woody vegetation
exist on the property. However, landscape trees, represented primarily by eastern cottonwood (Populus
deltoidesl) and ponderosa pine (Pins ponderosa), grow near the northern and southern edges of the
project area. Non-native grassland is dominated primarily by smooth brome (Bromopsis inermis) with
lesser amounts of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), and crested
wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) intermixed with weedy species including Canada thistle (Breea
arvensis), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), and cheatgrass (Anisantha tectorum). Scattered
remnant alfalfa plants (Medicago sativa) are also present indicating the project area had been cultivated
for hay production in the past. At the time of the survey, the site had been recently mowed, either for
weed control or hay production. Total vegetation cover in non-native grassland was estimated to range
between 65 and 85 percent. Photos 1 and 2 provide representative views of this habitat.
Habitat value and wildlife use of non-native grassland on the project area is limited by the lack of woody
vegetation; dominance by non-native grass species; mowing practices; and surrounding development,
roads, and recreation activities. Mice, voles, and pocket gopher are the only species likely to establish
resident populations in mowed non-native grassland habitat. Songbirds such as western meadowlark,
Brewer's blackbird, common grackle, and black -billed magpie may also occasionally use non-native
grassland/pasture habitat. There was no evidence of prairie dogs or prairie dog burrows observed on the
property. Goose droppings noted on the property indicated that Canada geese occasionally graze the
site. Goose droppings were the only evidence of wildlife use of the project area. Geese likely move into
1 Scientific nomenclature for vegetation follows: Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 1996. Colorado Flora Eastern
Slope, revised edition. University Press of Colorado, Niwot, Colorado. 524 pp.
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2
PRELIMINARY ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION STUDY REPORT
FOR THE
NEW HAMPSHIRE, LOT 2 DEVELOPMENT PARCEL
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND LOCATION
This report documents the evaluation of habitat conditions on the New Hampshire, Lot 2 development
parcel (project area) in Fort Collins, Colorado. The report was prepared in accordance with Section 3.4.1
of the Land Use Code of the City of Fort Collins regarding the preparation of an Ecological
Characterization Study Report (ECSR). The 3.63-acre development site is located in Fort Collins, Larimer
County, Colorado in the Northeast 1/4 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 30 (T. 7 N. R. 68 W.). The property
boundaries are defined by the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way on the west, Fort Collins Bike Trail and
Open Space on the north, Eastbrook Drive on the east, and existing commercial development on the
south. The property location is shown on Figure 1.
2.0 METHODOLOGY
Cedar Creek completed a field survey of the project area on December 22, 2005. The field survey of the
property was conducted to characterize existing wildlife habitats, as well as to identify any unique or
sensitive natural resource features. Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly SCS) soils
mapping (Soil Survey of Larimer County Area, Colorado) was also reviewed to determine if any known
hydric (wetland) soil mapping units are located on the property. Observations recorded during the field
evaluation included: major vegetation communities / wildlife habitats present within the property, dominant
vegetation associated with each community / habitat, unique habitat features, and observations of wildlife
species and/or definitive sign. Photographs showing representative views of existing habitats were also
taken to document site conditions. Wildlife presence and habitat use was based on on -site observations
and habitat presence in conjunction with the known habitat requirements of potential wildlife species.
Existing habitats were also evaluated regarding their ability to support populations of threatened,
endangered, and other sensitive plant and wildlife species.
3.0 HABITAT CONDITIONS AND WILDLIFE USE
According to the Soil Conservation Service's (SCS) Soil Survey of Larimer County Area, Colorado, Nunn
clay loam, 1 to 3 percent slopes is the only soils mapping unit within the project area. This soil is a deep,
well -drained soil that formed in alluvium. Runoff on this soil is slow to medium, and the hazard of water
erosion is moderate. The hazard of wind erosion is slight. No problem erosion areas were noted on the
project area.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1.0 Introduction and Location..................................................................................................................... 1
2.0 Methodology.........................................................................................................................................1
3.0 Habitat Conditions and Wildlife Use.....................................................................................................1
3.1 Non-native Grassland..................................................................................................................... 3
3.2 Wetlands......................................................................................................................................... 6
4.0 Ecological Study Characterization Checklist........................................................................................ 8
5.0 Wildlife and Habitat Mitigation Recommendations............................................................................. 10
6.0 References Cited..............................................................................................................................11 p
PRELIMINARY ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION STUDY REPORT
FOR THE
NEW HAMPSHIRE, LOT 2 DEVELOPMENT PARCEL
Prepared
by
Cedar Creek Associates, Inc.
Fort Collins, Colorado
Prepared
for
Sitzman-Mitchell & Co.
Fort Collins, Colorado
January 5, 2006
CCffmAm ( m-rEm
918 Willstdrs Ave., Fort Collins, CO 8D521 - (970) 493-4394