Photo credit: Bureau of Reclamation

Cultural Resources/NHPA Section 106 Compliance

In coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office, Reclamation is preparing a Class I literature review survey and report and a Class III level pedestrian inventory and report to record archaeological resources, water works, irrigation structures, and associated facilities within the project area. Reclamation is also complying with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act process by preparing a Programmatic Agreement outlining a phased consultation and compliance approach.

Aquatic Resources/Wetlands/Clean Water Act Section 404/401 Compliance

In coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Reclamation is delineating aquatic resources, including wetlands and Waters of the U.S., and preparing an aquatic resources inventory report. Reclamation will complete aquatic resources delineation cross sectional transects within riparian wetland habitat adjacent to perennial river systems according to the USACE Wetland Delineation Manual and Arid West Regional Supplement. Reclamation will also prepare Clean Water Act Section 404 permit and 401 certification applications to submit to the USACE and State of New Mexico.

Potential Resources to be Considered

The EIS will analyze natural and cultural resources, resource uses, socioeconomic and environmental justice related issues and other resources that would be affected in the project area. Specific questions that may be analyzed for a given resource topic include:

• What data sources are available for the resource topic?

• What resources (e.g., cultural resources, species, etc.) are known to occur in the project area?

• What are the current resource uses and activities (e.g., agriculture, recreation, etc.) in the project area?

• How would the proposed Lower San Acacia Reach Improvements Project (LSARI) impact the resource or resource use?

Potential Resources to be Analyzed:

• Air Quality

• Cultural Resources

• Fish and Wildlife

• Geology and Soils

• Hazardous Substances & Waste

• Hydrology (including Surface Water, Groundwater, Geomorphology, and Water Quality)

• Land Use

• Noise

• Special Status Species

• Socioeconomics and Environmental Justice

• Recreation

• Utilities and Infrastructure

• Vegetation

• Wetlands and Floodplains

Rio Grande Silvery Minnow

Hybognathus amarus

Listing Status: Endangered

Type of Habitat: The Rio Grande silvery minnow prefers river habitats with slow to moderate currents flowing over silt or silt/sand substrate. Rio Grande silvery minnow typically occupy river habitats with less than 15 inches of water depths and low to moderate velocity, such as eddies formed by debris piles, pools, backwaters, embayments, shorelines, and submerged vegetation.

Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Listing Status: Threatened

Type of Habitat: Yellow-billed Cuckoos use wooded habitats with dense cover and water nearby, including woodlands with low, scrubby vegetation, overgrown orchards, abandoned farmland, and dense thickets along streams and marshes. In the West, nests are often placed in willows along streams and rivers, with nearby cottonwoods serving as foraging sites.

Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (SWFL)

Empidonax traillii extimus

Listing Status: Endangered

Type of Habitat: SWFL are known to occur around the Rio Grande floodplain, the Low Flow Conveyance Channel and the delta above the Elephant Butte Reservoir*. In the Middle Rio Grande drainage, SWFL breed in riparian habitat containing dense stands of species, such as coyote willow (Salix exigua) and saltcedar (Tamarix sp.), with a dense shrubby understory. In New Mexico, stream flows have been reported to correlate with nesting success, and nests are often constructed over standing water or wet soil. Suitable nesting habitat occurs in patches throughout the Middle Rio Grande valley and riparian bosque. Even if suitable nesting habitat is not present on the project site, migrating SWFL may use the site as stopover or foraging habitat.

*An artificial channel that runs alongside the Rio Grande between San Acacia, New Mexico and Elephant Butte Reservoir.

New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse

Zanus hudsonius luteus

Listing Status: Endangered

Type of Habitat: Habitat specialist that nests in dry soils but also uses moist streamside and dense riparian vegetation. Appears to use only two riparian community types: persistent emergent herbaceous wetlands and scrub-shrub wetlands. Habitat suitability may change along with variable flows in the Rio Grande. Along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, extant populations occur at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge north of the project area. The species historically occurred in other areas along the river.