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• • I -35E Corridor Final AUAR September 26, 2005 Ecologically Sensitive Resources The AUAR area contains a wealth of ecologically sensitive resources including high quality natural and semi - natural areas, wildlife corridors, two rare animals, the Peltier Lake Island Heron Rookery, two rare plant communities, and portions of the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park. Mitigating impacts to ecologically sensitive resources is discussed throughout the Final AUAR. The Conservation Design Framework (Figure 10 -3 and described under Item 10) is designed to conserve wildlife habitat and natural plant communities, and will provide an invaluable tool for conservation of wildlife and rare features within the AUAR area. Most importantly, the Conservation Design Framework protects the existing significant fish, wildlife, and ecological sensitive resources in the northwest portion of the AUAR, and goes beyond to identify and protect the most significant outlier habitats, buffering them, and connecting them with greenway corridors. In brief, conservation design principles behind the Framework include: • protect streams, lakes, and groundwater by purifying, filtering, and infiltrating surface runoff to the maximum extent possible • preserve, restore, and enhance existing natural and semi - natural areas and wildlife habitat • create wildlife opportunities by restoring and managing wildlife habitat • establish wide buffers and connections around and between core and outlier habitats The greenway corridors are designed to connect the larger and higher quality natural areas. These corridors will provide three main services: 1) stormwater collection and conveyance, 2) ecological corridors for wildlife movement and native plant dispersal, and 3) recreational trails for people. Certain greenway corridors may warrant design for specific wildlife species, may provide certain stormwater management opportunities, or may need to accommodate different types of trails or passive recreational uses. Design considerations may include corridor width, appropriate vegetation structure, human access and use, and whether or not it is appropriate for a corridor to cross a particular type of roadway. New developments represent opportunities to plan and carry out ecological restoration and management. Ecological restoration, enhancement, and/or expansion will help mitigate potential impacts on wildlife and rare features, and if these activities are planned, scheduled, and carried out at the recommended broad scale, will likely result in a net increase in conservation and ecological benefits within the AUAR area compared with existing conditions. Various tools exist or can be developed to ensure the protection and stewardship of the preserved, restored, and enhanced natural resources in the AUAR area. These tools can be used to establish a consistent set of standards for treating the open space across different areas as they are developed. For example, the buffers shown on the Conservation Design Framework (Figure 10 -3) are conceptual and will allow the city the flexibility to consider several land protection and preservation tools in these areas. The variety of tools listed throughout this Final AUAR will enable public and private sectors to cooperate in creating this natural open space network over time in a realistic market and regulatory context. Stormwater Management Effective stormwater management and planning within the AUAR area is a challenging pursuit, but one that is critical to prudent and environmentally sound development. The AUAR process presents an opportunity for logical and innovative stormwater management that integrates traditional stormwater detention and water quality requirements with environmental restoration and conservation objectives. This ideal can be implemented on both a regional and site scale to minimize the impact of development on runoff rates and volumes, water quality, and the region's aquatic resources. The stormwater analysis is fully discussed under Item 17 and Appendix D contains the Hydrologic Analysis. X111