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<br />Arizona Game and Fish Department <br />Biological Evaluation: Kanab Ambersnail <br /> <br />July 1998 <br />Page 6 <br /> <br />CHAPTER II: PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION <br /> <br />A. THE PROPOSED ACTION <br /> <br />In their 1996 BO on the experimental BHBF, and subsequent 1997 BO <br />on the Fall test flow, the USFWS set forth Reasonable and Prudent <br />Measures (RPM) related to minimizing incidental take of KAS. <br />Specifically, the USFWS established the following terms and <br />conditions associated with the RPM, stating: <br /> <br />"Before another habitat-building flow, Reclamation (USBR) will <br />enter into informal consultation with the Service (USFWS) to <br />evaluate test flow studies, the establishment or discovery of a <br />second population of Kanab ambersnail in Arizona, and reinitiate <br />formal consultation with the Service if incidental take will exceed <br />the 10 percent as established in the 1995 biological opinion." <br /> <br />In layman's terms, "incidental take" can be defined as habitat loss <br />or the death and/or disturbance of individuals (in this case, KASs) <br />as a result 0 activities in the affected environment. USBR has <br />determined that the level of incidental take for a 1998 BHBF on <br />KASs would exceed 10%, and has therefore reinitiated formal <br />consultation with USFWS (pers. corom. T. Morton, USBR). <br /> <br />The AGFD has entered a cooperative agreement with the Department of <br />Interior, Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA) Office to <br />establish additional wild populations of KASs in Grand Canyon using <br />AGFD's 12-step reintroduction process (AGFD 1987). This 12-step <br />process was also used for reintroduction of California condors and <br />black-footed ferrets in Arizona. AGFD's 12-step process involves <br />environmental assessments, NEPA compliance, review by the Arizona <br />Game and Fish Commission, federal agencies, expert biologists, and <br />the public. The USBR has agreed to provide logistical support for <br />AGFD to establish wild KAS populations in order to satisfy <br />Biological Opinion requirements(USBR 1997). <br /> <br />To increase the probability of establishing at least one new wild <br />population of KASs, NPS/AGFD plan to trans locate KASs from Vaseys <br />Paradise (VP) to a maximum of three other sites in Grand Canyon <br />during the summer and/or fall of 1998. KAS population estimates <br />and habitat mapping will follow the sampling and survey techniques <br />previously used at VP and described in detail in Stevens et al. <br />(1997a,b) . These methods require topographical mapping of <br />vegetation at KAS establishment sites to estimate baseline habitat <br />area, seasonal variation in habitat area, and future population <br />estimates. <br />