Avoiding and Minimizing Wetland and Wildlife

Impacts in the Van Loon Bottoms During Powerline

Construction

Sara Viernum, Wildlife Biologist

Project Description• Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC)

• Not-for-profit Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative

• Rural Electrification in four states – WI, MN, IA, IL• Headquarter La Crosse, WI

• Regional Touchstone Energy Cooperative Partner

Project Description• Rebuilt 161 kilovolt (kV) Electric Transmission Line

• Transmission line was built in 1950; 65 years old• Need of rebuild

• Old structures• Power and fiber optic outages due to failing structures

Original Structure

Project Description• Rebuilt 161 kV Electric Transmission Line

• Fall 2015• 13 miles total

• 3 miles within Van Loon Bottoms– Black River floodplain in La Crosse County – 0.9 miles USFWS Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish

Refuge – 0.3 miles WDNR Van Loon Wildlife Area– 1.8 miles private lands

Van Loon Bottoms

DPC ROW

USFWS

WDNR

Stantec

Tank

Cre

ek

Black R

iver

Project Description• Rebuilt 161 kV Electric Transmission Line

• Uplands: 69 H-frame steel structures 500-700 feet apart• Wetlands: 28 Y-frame steel structures 600-800 feet apart

• 3-mile Black River Floodplain – 22 Y-frames installed with heavy-lift helicopter– Only 65 feet of existing 80-foot right-of way used

New Y-frames

Impact Concerns• Wetland Impacts

• Soil disturbance and compaction• Species Impacts

• Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus)• State endangered; Federally proposed

• Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) • State threathened

• Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus )• State endangered

• Bell’s Vireo (Vireo belli)• State threatened

• Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea)• State threatened

©WDNR

Mitigation and Conservation• DPC, AECOM, Stantec, USFWS, and WDNR

• Project-specific Mitigation and Conservation Plan• Incidental Take Permit

• Eastern massasauga• Wood Turtle

• Avoidance• Loggerhead Shrike• Bell’s Vireo• Cerulean Warbler

Mitigation and Conservation• Based on:

• Desktop reviews of recent aerial photography• Discussions with USFWS and WDNR• Habitat observations from previous field visits• Alternative analyses –

• Relocating to CapX Project• Three alternative routes

– Hwy 35 Route– Seven Bridges Route– Galesville Route

» Impacted more residences» Increased line length» Substantially more costly » Greater environmental impacts

Wetland Mitigation•Wetland Impact Minimizations

• Amphibious UTVs• Foot Travel• Helicopters• Temporary Matting

• Around new structures only• No transmission structures placed in waterbodies• Impact monitoring by onsite Stantec Environmental

Inspector, WDNR Biologists, and USFWS Biologists

Wetland Mitigation• Foot Travel

• Minimize soil disturbance and compaction

• Amphibious UTVs• Argo, Hydratrek, and Marsh Master

• Transport personnel and small equipment

• Low ground pressure rubber tracks or tires

• Minimize soil disturbance and compaction– Limited traffic in ROW to single access

paths up to 12ft wide

Wetland Mitigation

Wetland Impact Avoidance• Helicopters

• Smaller Helicopters• Personnel• Small equipment

Two Linemen

Wetland Impact Avoidance• Helicopters

• Heavy-lift Sikorsky S-64 Air Crane • Large equipment

― New and Old Utility Structures― Mats― Hammer and Power Unit

©Erik Daily, La Crosse Tribune

Hammer

Wetland Mitigation• Impacts

• Permanent• Approx. 0.01 acres for new structures

• Temporary• Approx. up to 0.3 acres for new structure matting• Approx. up to 5 acres for access routes

Wetland Mitigation• DPC Long-term Maintenance

• Conduct a ground inspection• Restore all areas of temporary disturbance to pre-existing

or improved habitat conditions• Every 5 years

• Prepare and implement Vegetation Management Work Plans with USFWS and WDNR

Species Conservation• Avoidance

• Loggerhead Shrike• Bell’s Vireo• Cerulean Warbler

• Construction activities conducted after August 15 avoided breeding season

Species Conservation• Onsite Monitoring

• Eastern Massasauga• Wood Turtle

• Up to two onsite Stantec Biologists― Trained to handle and relocate

species to nearby habitat― Hold E/T permits for target species― Equipped with snake tongs― VES ahead of all construction

activities― Remain near crews at all times― Monitored from construction start

September 1 until the start of WDNR designated species inactive season October 31

*note eastern gartersnake hence why I’m free handling it

Species Conservation• Impacts

• No massasaugas or wood turtles observed during monitoring

• DPC Long-term Maintenance• Conduct an updated endangered resources review

within one year

Species Conservation• Additional Wildlife Sightings

• Northern Leopard Frogs• Green Frogs• Blue-spotted Salamanders• Eastern Gartersnakes• Midland Brownsnakes• Northern Watersnakes• Blanding's Turtle• Snapping Turtle • Midland Painted Turtles• Bald Eagles• Mink• Wolf prints• White-tailed Deer

Questions?