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<br />713 made in the future to the San Juan River, new operations under the proposed action may benefit these <br />714 specIes. <br /> <br />715 Interior least tern <br /> <br />716 The interior least tern is a small, migratory, piscivorus tern associated with shallow waters oflakes and <br />717 rivers. ,These birds are primarily found in the Mississippi Basin, although a breeding population occurs <br />718 at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Chaves County New Mexico. Nesting occurs in late May. <br />719 The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) reports infrequent sitings in San Juan <br />720 County in the project area. <br /> <br />721 The Interior Least Tern is not known to depend on the habitats along the San Juan River and Navajo <br />722 Reservoir potentially affected by the proposed plan and thus should not be affected. <br /> <br />723 Southwestern willow flvcatcher <br /> <br />724 The southwestern willow flycatcher is a small, migratory passerine bird that has lost habitat due to <br />725 water diversion and floodplain channelization, introduction of non-native vegetation, livestock grazing, <br />726 and brown-headed cowbird nest parasitism. The birds nest in dense riparian vegetation with a nesting <br />727 period from May through July. Surface water or saturated soils are often present in nesting areas. <br />728 Potential habitat occurs along arms of Navajo Reservoir and along the San Juan River. Data suggest <br />729 that the better willow flycatcher habitat exists downstream from the Animas confluence (CUP, 2001), <br />730 although some areas immediately downstream from Navajo Dam provide excellent potential habitat <br />731 CUP (200 I) provides detail on habitat conditions and willow flycatcher distribution along the river. <br /> <br />732 Along the San Juan, habitat is now dominated by tamarisk and Russian olive; native willow stands also <br />733 occur. Studies reported by Johnson and O'Brien (1998) indicate that the lower river in Utah is <br />734 primarily used by migrating birds and as such serves as an important stopover to replenish strength for <br />735 the continued migration to breeding grounds. However, the river area does provide suitable nesting <br />736 habitat that may be used in the future. <br /> <br />737 In 1997, one nesting pair was documented along the San Juan in New Mexico downstream from <br />738 Shiprock. Nesting was confirmed in this area again in 1998 but not in 1999 (BIA, 1999 and CUP, <br />739 200 I). Migrating willow flycatchers have been observed along the river from Navajo Dam <br />740 downstream in New Mexico. Similarly birds were observed along the Piedra arm of Navajo Reservoir <br />741 in 1999 but were not confirmed to be nesting (Reclamation, 1999). <br /> <br />742 Grazing in riparian areas and in some cases disturbance by recreational river users can adversely affect <br />743 the species along the San Juan. The Southwestern willow flycatcher may be affected by loss of <br />744 riparian habitat along the San Juan River or by reservoir operations that stress existing riparian habitats <br />745 that occur in reservoir inflow areas such as the Piedra and San Juan arms of the reservoir. As shown <br />746 previously on Figure I average summer reservoir elevations would be approximately 10 feet lower <br />747 than under the No Action alternative and this may affect potential quality and use of willow habitats. <br /> <br />25 <br />