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Environmental Assessment Worksheet
<br />Nature's Refuge Conservation Development
<br />Lino Lakes, Anoka County, Minnesota
<br />Draft Document — September 25, 2006
<br />Page 8
<br />wetlands. The forest is also traversed by the buried pipeline rights -of -way (50' -60' wide) noted above. This likely
<br />hinders movement by smaller forest animals, effectively separating the northeast and northwest corners from the
<br />central forest expanse. The separation is not complete, and only is likely to affect some small, less - mobile, forest -
<br />obligate vertebrates and some invertebrates (e.g. snails). At the same time, the rights -of -way act as corridors for
<br />edge - loving species (e.g. deer and edge - nesting birds), and hunting/scavenging larger mammals (e.g. foxes), which
<br />may include nest predators (e.g. raccoons) and brood parasites (e.g. brown- headed cowbird) that can disrupt hinder
<br />reproduction in forest - nesting birds. Conversely, the east -west drainage ditch in the southwestern portion of the
<br />property, with its forested buffer, provides a corridor through the logged area for more secretive forest - obligate
<br />species. This corridor connects the large wetland complex ( "Wetland 7 ", see Figure 3) with the
<br />forest/wetland/residential area to the west of the site boundary. In general, the interspersion of habitat patches and
<br />attributes provides good habitat diversity and contributes positively to the general habitat quality of the forest.
<br />There is a large non - forested upland in the southwestern portion of the site. This area actually consists of three
<br />zones with different communities and land -use histories. All have been physically manipulated in the past and are
<br />exposed to some human activity at present (Main Street traffic, the elementary school, the two homesteads at the
<br />south property boundary and unauthorized recreational activity). The southernmost portion of the open area,
<br />surrounding Wetland 25, is a fallow field containing early- successional oldfield plant species. Just north of this
<br />zone is a recently logged zone surrounding Wetlands 21, 23, and 24, plus about half of Wetland 30 and a portion of
<br />the edge of Wetland 7. All trees and shrubs were removed from this area stretching northward to Wetland 30,
<br />excluding the above - mentioned wooded buffer strip along the main drainage ditch. The logged area is now a newly
<br />recovering expanse of bare, disturbed soil and weedy pioneer and invasive species. Immediately north of the logged
<br />area is an open grassland that may have been farmed in the past. It is covered by various later - successional oldfield
<br />plant species. These non - forested areas provide habitats that range from poor to moderate. Only the northernmost
<br />(north of the ditch) part has enough positive attributes (full, complex vegetative cover, embedded wetlands,
<br />proximity to forest, and sufficient distance from human activity to be considered moderately good grassland habitat.
<br />However, the presence of wetland basins south of the ditch enhances the habitat quality in that disturbed area.
<br />The project site includes 93 acres of delineated wetland area, consisting of rich fen, poor fen, sedge meadow, wet
<br />meadow, aspen and hardwood swamp, and shallow marsh (Types 1, 2, 3, and 7). The most common community is
<br />wet meadow with relatively low vegetative diversity and quality, being dominated by reed canary grass and
<br />encroaching quaking aspen. Several wetland communities include or are dominated by two or three sedge species
<br />(i.e. Carex stricta, C. lasiocarpa, C. lacustris), and several include one or more state- listed rare species. Despite the
<br />relatively low vegetative diversity, the wetlands provide medium to high quality wildlife habitat according to the
<br />Minnesota Routine Assessment Method (MnRAM) because they are well distributed in a vegetated/wooded upland
<br />matrix and most have wide, minimally disturbed buffers. A few wetlands have medium to high quality habitat
<br />structure, with multiple plant communities and complex vertical structure (open water, emergent herbaceous, shrub,
<br />and tree layers). Wetland 7 is distinct from the others because it is a large wetland complex consisting of many
<br />different community/habitat patches. Half of the wetlands on the property provide amphibian breeding habitat of
<br />high to medium quality (except Wetland 7 which is rated as having "Low" amphibian habitat quality because of a
<br />possibility of predatory fish gaining access to it via the drainage ditch — see below).
<br />A few wetlands (Wetlands 3, 4, 6, 7, 30) provide habitat potential for small fish (especially hypoxia- tolerant species
<br />e.g. mudminnow, fathead minnow) because they are interconnected by drainage ditches and the whole complex is
<br />connected to Marshan Lake through the drainage ditch system. However, only Wetland 7 is likely to have any
<br />exposure to somewhat larger piscivorous fish at any time, if ever, because it is the only one directly drained by the
<br />main ditch, and it has the largest and deepest inundated areas. Even so, it is unlikely that any fish larger than
<br />minnows would be able to overwinter in the wetland.
<br />Wildlife (or evidence thereof) observed within the project boundaries during site visits include deer (antler,
<br />abundant tracks), squirrels, raccoon (tracks), chorus frogs (calling in almost all inundated wetlands in April), garter
<br />snake, wild turkey, various songbirds (American goldfinch, American robin), ground- nesting marsh birds, abundant
<br />green darner dragonflies. In previous years, sandhill cranes have been observed on the site. There is one DNR-
<br />documented on -site occurrence of a state - threatened species, Blanding' s turtle. The record is from 1992, but the site
<br />provides ample suitable habitat for the species, and it is within a region where the species is fairly common
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