04-14-14-TCAAP WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Ecological and Water Resources, Box 25 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-4025 Phone: (651) 259-5109 E-mail: lisa.joyal@state.mn.us Correspondence # ERDB 20140096 February 18, 2014 Ms. Rachel Haase Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. 2550 University Avenue West, Suite 238N St. Paul, MN 55114 RE: Natural Heritage Review of the proposed Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant AUAR, T30N R23N Sections 9 & 16, Ramsey County Dear Ms. Haase, As requested, the Minnesota Natural Heritage Information System has been queried to determine if anyrare species or other significant natural features are known to occur within an approximate one-mile radius of the proposed project. Based on this query, rare features have been documented within the rare features be adversely affected search area. Please note that the following may by the proposed project and should be addressed in the Alternative Urban Areawide Review: The project boundary overlaps portions of two Central Region Regionally Significant Ecological Areas (RSEA; see enclosed map). The DNR Central Region (in partnership with the Metropolitan Council for the 7-county metro area), identified these ecologically significant terrestrial and wetland areas by conducting a landscape-scale assessment based on the size and shape of the ecological area, land cover within the ecological area, adjacent land cover/use, and connectivity to other ecological areas. The purpose of the data is to inform regional scale land use decisions, especially as it relates to balancing development and natural resource protection. A GIS shapefile of this data layer can be downloaded from the DNR Data Deli at http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us. Additional information, including pdf versions of the RSEA maps, is available at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsea/index.html. If you would like help interpreting the RSEA data or would like assistance with designing the project’s greenspace, please contact Hannah Texler, Regional Plant Ecologist for DNR’s Central Region, at 651-259-5811 or hannah.texler@state.mn.us. The proposed project is within the AHATS – Rice Creek Important Bird Area (IBA; see enclosed map). Important Birds Areas, identified by Audubon Minnesota in partnership with the DNR, are part of an international conservation effort aimed at conserving critical bird habitats. They are voluntary and non-regulatory, but the designation does demonstrate the biological value of this area. This particular IBA contains varied habitat, including extensive grasslands, and provides important habitat for waterfowl, raptors, and passerines within an urban landscape. A minimum of 166 species have been observed within the IBA boundaries, including several Species of Greatest Conservation Need as identified in Minnesota’s State Wildlife Action Plan (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/cwcs/index.html). www.mndnr.gov AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER