Agenda - Council - 10/22/2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-366- unsuitable for nesting. The remainder of the Site is pasmreland and would likely not be preferred by Blanding's for nesting. In addition, there are no large wetland areas in the proposed Project area that could maintain an annual population of Blanding's. While it is possible that Blanding's could occasionally use the Site, these instances are likely to be infrequent since the habitat at the Site is generally not compatible to year round residency by Blanding's. Existing development in the Site area has fragmented the habitat enough that it is likely to make the Site unsuitable for the long-term survival of any Blanding's population located there. Population and reproductive dynamics suggest viable populations of Blanding's are dependent on large numbers of animals and adequate areas of undisturbed habitat. Should any Blanding's be sighted on or immediately adjacent to the proposed project site, the MDNR Blanding's Turtle Fact Sheet guidelines for construction activities and land use to minimize impacts on Blanding's will be implemented 2) Reduction of Wildlife Habitat The proposed project at the Site will reduce some of the wooded areas and pastureland, but no wetlands will be filled or destroyed. Tree loss will be minimized via a tree preservation plan, developed in cooperation with the City of Ramsey (City), for the Site. The developer will work with the City to develop a reforestation plan which will locate and survey significant large and healthy trees, compare the locations to the project grading plan, and use Best Management Practices to preserve trees. In addition, the developer will modify their grading plan (where possible) to save additional trees at the Site. Trees slated for protection will be marked and surrounded by a 48 inch high snow fence or orange safety fence. Delineation of the tree line protection area will ideally be located at the outer perimeter of the dripline of the tree. While disruption of the wetland area to the south of the Site (during the construction of the sanitary sewer line extension) will occur, it should be noted that the work will not change the land elevations within the wetland area as the area will be regraded to approximate preconstruction contours. The construction activities will require significant dewatering activities and the groundwater will be discharged, to .the wetland area and the adjacent County Ditch No.' 43..The construction route through the wetland has been chosen to minimize any long-term impact to the area. The major benefit of the construction route is to avoid cutting existing hardwood trees on adjacent properties and by following the lowest terrain in order to avoid deeper trench cuts. An MDNR License to Cross Public Lands and Waters has been obtained for the sewer line extension. The license requires that the areas in and adjacent to the wetland and County Ditch No. 43 shall be restored by stripping, salvaging and placing a layer of the organic topsoil that currently exists to a thicl~ess similar to preconstruction conditions. The following procedures will also be used: 1. Prior to excavating in the wetland areas, all trees and brush shall be removed and existing grasses and vegetation mowed as close as possible. 2. The upper-most layer of soil in wetland areas, consisting o.f grasses and associated grass root structure, to a minimum of 12 inches and to a maximum 24 inches depth~ shall be separately stripped and stockpiled for use in restoration as "wetland sUrface". I --~ Hakanson Anderson G:\PRIVATE~3000\3057\3057.O3\3057-O3pt.doc ASSOC., [ nc. i! I I I I I I I I