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<br /> <br />002~ol <br /> <br />habitat of lesser value (upland wooded, grassland, cropland, <br />mesquite-prairie) than it would high value wetland, flood plain forest, <br />and riparian habitats. <br /> <br />There are no designated critical habitats of listed endangered <br />species along or near the canal route. Endangered species (Federal <br />Register May 20, 1980) which are known to utilize the general area <br />include migrating or wandering bald eagles and peregrine falcons. The <br />whooping crane is possible during spring and fall migration in Baylor, <br />Archer, Clay, Jack, Montague, and Cooke Counties in Texas. Resident <br />endangered species known to occur in the corridor include the American <br />alligator and the red cockaded woodpecker in northeast Texas and <br />Arkansas. Neither of these listed species should be significantly <br />affected by canals based on currently known population data, though <br />consideration should be given to them in future detailed planning or <br />route assessments. The black footed ferret is possible from Baylor <br />County westward in Texas, but there are no known recent records. <br />Bachman's warbler and the Florida panther are also listed species <br />possibly occurring in southern Arkansas in heavily wooded bottomland <br />habitat. It is unlikely these species would be impacted unless <br />populations are found in future surveys. Populations of the fat <br />pocketbook pearly mussel are found in the White River but would be <br />unlikely to be affected by canal facilities. <br /> <br />Other indirect biological impacts of potential significance <br />include the transfer of aquatic forms through the system to drainages <br />where they do not presently occur, and entrainment of aquatic organisms <br />in pumping facilities which could affect population balances in source <br />streams. Each source stream, and each stream on which holding <br />reservoirs are considered, differs greatly in its species composition of <br />aquatic organisms. Each stream includes a diversity of aquatic species <br />and population dynamics involving plankton, nekton, and benthos. <br />Transfer of water through canals from varying source streams in Arkansas <br />and Texas, to terminal storage would result in continuous mixing of <br />aquatic life forms throughout all the major drainages affected. Mixing <br />would be greatest in source holding reservoirs and streams but could <br />also accidentally occur on any major or minor stream crossed by the <br /> <br />047 <br />