5.3
Biological Resources (BIO)
ISSUE
BIO‐1
Biological resources include federal and state listed species (threatened and
endangered) and their habitats. These resources may also include areas such
as wetlands and migratory corridors that are critical to the overall health and
productivity of an ecosystem. The presence of sensitive biological resources
may require special development considerations and should be included
early in the planning process.
Key Terms
Critical Habitat. Specific areas found to be essential to the conservation of a
threatened or endangered species and which may require special
considerations or protection. Under this designation, the US Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) must review all federal government activities within a
designated critical habitat area to ensure that threatened and endangered
species are protected.
Endangered Species. Plant or animal species that have a very small population
and are at greater risk of becoming extinct. The presence of threatened and
endangered species may require special development considerations, could
halt development, and could impact the performance of military missions.
Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides a
program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and
animals and the habitats in which they are found. The lead federal agencies
for implementing ESA are the USFWS and the US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service. Species include birds,
insects, fish, reptiles, mammals, crustaceans, flowers, grasses, and trees.
Threatened Species. According to the ESA a threatened species is “any
species which is likely to become an endangered species within the
foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
Background Report
Protected, Threatened or Endangered Species near
the Dare County Range and the National Alligator
River Wildlife Refuge
Concern for the protection of the red‐cockaded
woodpecker (endangered), American alligator, black
bear, red wolves, and northern long‐eared bat proximate
to the Dare County Range from potential impacts of
overflight.
Compatibility Assessment
While Seymour Johnson AFB does not have any endangered species at or
immediately near the installation, endangered fauna are present at and
around the DCR. The threatened American alligator, endangered red wolf,
and endangered red‐cockaded woodpecker are three federally listed species
present at the DCR and the surrounding Alligator River National Wildlife
Refuge (NWR). An Ecosystem Survey completed in 1995 did not identify any
federally rare or threatened and endangered flora at the DCR. As noted in
the 2008 DCR Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP), the
presence of federally listed endangered species may restrict training outside
of the impact areas at the DCR.
The red‐cockaded woodpecker (RCW) population found at the DCR is part of
the Northeast North Carolina/Southeast Virginia Essential Support Population
within the Mid‐Atlantic Coastal Plain Recovery Unit. The DCR and Alligator
River NWR are part of the essential support population due to their unique
habitat of pocosins and pond pine woodlands; RCWs typically nest in longleaf
pine forests. The RCW management methods traditionally used in longleaf
pine forests have not worked well in atypical RCW habitats of non‐alluvial
wetlands, such as pocosins. The USFWS has indicated that aerial surveys have
discovered additional RCWs located in atypical habitats. As noted in the 2008
DCR INRMP, hosting a robust, growing population improves the potential for
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