eLearning Tool for FEMA Grant Applicants

Section C: Endangered Species and Fish and Wildlife Coordination

C-5 How to provide relevant and helpful support documentation.

There are five important things to attach to your application as support documentation.

First, documentation of your contact with USFWS, NMFS, the state natural heritage program or wildlife agency, including:

scanned and attached copies of response letters, faxes, or emails;
summaries of relevant telephone conversations; and
the status of any outstanding correspondence.

Second, provide narrative descriptions of the kinds of vegetation present and the character of nearby bodies of water in the comments section of Question C in the Environmental/Historic Preservation Questions. In the narrative, be sure to describe:

the amount of vegetation that you will remove - For grasses and mowed areas, provide a unit measure of the area (e.g., 200 square feet). For trees and shrubs you should record how many individual plants you will remove.
the kind of vegetation that is present in the area and the kind you will remove - If known, give both common and scientific names for the species.
the setting in which the vegetation is located, for example:
- Installing the piping will require the removal of about 40,000 square feet of roadside grasses, about 45 White pine trees (Pinus strobus) that are 25-feet tall and located in a small wooded area, and about 15 trees and shrubs (rhododendron and vaccinium) on the lawn of the sewage plant. One of the trees on the lawn is a White oak (Quercus alba) about 30 inches in diameter. The rest of the trees and shrubs on the lawn were planted by the city 15 years ago, and are ornamental varieties. About 30,000 square feet of cultivated grasses will also be removed from the lawn of the sewage plant.
the name of the body of water (if any), the type of water body (e.g., wetland, intermittent stream, stream, river, pond, lake), its dimensions, function, and setting, for example:
- In the area of the project, Jones Creek is about 10 feet across and 2 feet deep. Upstream of the culvert, the creek runs through the city park, and the banks are generally covered in mowed grasses. Due to excessive floodwaters during heavy rains, the banks of the creek directly upstream of the culvert have been severely eroded and contain no vegetation. Downstream of the culvert the creek gets much wider where the east fork of the creek joins in. On one side of the creek is the walking trail, the other side of the creek is woods. The bottom of the creek contains some gravel and stones, but is mostly full of sediment. As a result of this project, the severely eroded creek banks will have a chance to stabilize, thus reducing the amount of sediment build-up that has been such a problem. The culvert upgrade would improve the conveyance of the creek and eliminate the bank erosion that is occurring.
describe how close the project activities will be to the water body, and if the project could result in any changes to the water body, for example:
- The culvert will be installed in Jones Creek where it runs under Main Street. The existing culvert will be removed with a Cat 416 backhoe, which will be operated from the road. In some cases, the backhoe may need to be operated adjacent to the road on the shoulder. The new culvert will be installed on the same day using the backhoe. Fill material will be brought in by dump truck that will not be operated in the creek. No equipment will be staged at the project site; if construction activities continue for more than 1 day, all equipment will be taken from the site and staged at the Road Commission equipment barn

Third, attach to the application a 1:24,000 USGS topographic map indicating:

the project site
the location of construction activities
the location of bodies of water

Fourth, include digital or scanned photographs of:

the project site and project area
any affected vegetation that will be removed. These photographs should be taken to clearly show what kind of vegetation will be removed, and where the vegetation is located in the context of its surroundings. [example 1 , example 2]
the areas directly upstream and downstream of the project site
the project area in the context of its surroundings.

Finally, indicate in your scope of work and as a line item in your cost estimate any actions you are taking to avoid, minimize, or reduce adverse impact to listed threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat that may be in your project area. You should also include this information in the comments box of Section C in the Environmental/Historic Preservation Questions.

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-May-2006 14:51:34 EDT