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<br />(Lake Texhoma), and includes portions of the Caddo National Grasslands <br />and Bonham State Park in Texas. In Arkansas, the channel corridor would <br />pass close to White Oak Lake State Park, Poison Springs Battleground <br />State Park, State Forest, and State Wildlife Management Area, and Marks <br />Mill Battleground State Park. It would also be sufficiently close to <br />warrant consideration of Bayou Des Arc, Wattensas, Hope, and Bois d' Arc <br />State Wildlife Management Areas in Arkansas and Pat Mayse State Wildlife <br />Management Area in Texas. With consideration of these sensitive areas <br />of a transfer channel, direct impacts could be avoided. <br /> <br />(3) Biological. The most significant direct biological impact <br />related to construction of a canal of this magnitude within the corridor <br />under consideration would be the quantity of land (habitat) used in <br />construction of facilities. Over the length of the route, the quantity <br />of habitat replaced by structures will be great but will be in a narrow <br />band. Significant impacts related to quantity of anyone habitat type <br />or on local populations of wildlife, therefore, will probably not occur. <br />The canal will, however, represent a significant barrier to movements of <br />local terrestrial wildlife populations and, if not carefully designed <br />and constructed, may also result in a safety hazard to wildlife. The <br />splitting of local populations of terrestrial species, or barrier to <br />movement of populations up and down travel corridors such as stream <br />drainages may result in long term, but subtle, changes in ecosystems or <br />genetic traits of local wildlife populations. <br /> <br />Wetlands would be impacted at major river crossings, as would <br />bottomland hardwood habitats. The major value of known wetlands and <br />bottomland hardwoods in southwestern Arkansas and northeast Texas is <br />wildlife habitat, and these values would be lost or modified along the <br />channel right-of-way. Construction impacts, and modification of small <br />local drainages, would also potentially impact stream aquatic resources <br />along flood plains. Mitigation, through replacement of habitat <br />productivity on unaffected lands or waters, can reduce net adverse <br />impacts on these significant biological resources. <br /> <br />Most of the conveyance system would traverse upland habitats, <br />particularly in Texas along watershed divides. Therefore, in terms of <br />quantity and quality of habitat, the canal would affect much more <br /> <br /> <br />~, <br /> <br />046 <br />