S7 Technical Assistance

Determining Whether Minnesota Dwarf Trout Lily (Erythronium propullans) May be Present in a Project Area in Minnesota

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Background

Under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (Act), Federal agencies must consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) on any action that they fund, authorize, or carry out that may affect endangered or threatened species. The first step in determining whether consultation is necessary is to find out whether any listed species may be present in the action area – the area that the proposed action will directly or indirectly affect.

 

Minnesota dwarf trout lily (Erythronium propullans) occurs on forested slopes and floodplains in a relatively small area of southeast Minnesota (Fig. 1). In lowland hardwood forests occupied by Minnesota dwarf trout lily, tree canopies are typically dominated by green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), red elm (Ulmus rubra), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), and scattered basswood (Tilia americana) [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) 2001; N. Sather, MDNR, pers. comm., 2003]. In maple-basswood forests inhabited by Minnesota dwarf trout lily sugar maple (Acer saccharum), basswood, red oak (Quercus rubra), and American elm (U. americana) are typical canopy dominants (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 2001).

 

Purpose of Guidance

The purpose of this guidance is to help federal agencies and their representatives to determine when Minnesota dwarf trout lily may be present within an area that may be affected directly or indirectly by a federal action. The approach described below is intended only for use relative to interagency consultation conducted under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act.

 

Agencies implementing federal actions must also determine whether any other federally listed species or critical habitat may be affected by their proposed or ongoing actions. For further information, see the contact information below for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

Determining If Minnesota Dwarf Trout Lily May be Present in an Action Area

Use this approach to help determine whether a proposed federal action may affect Minnesota dwarf trout lily (i.e., whether consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding effects to this species under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act is required):

 

1) Define the action area. Action area means all areas to be affected directly or indirectly by a federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action (50 CFR 402.02).¹

 

2) Does the action area contain one or more recorded populations of Minnesota dwarf trout lily? Consult the Minnesota DNR natural heritage database and/or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (612.725-3548 or phil_delphey@fws.gov) to answer this question. If the answer is yes, go to number 4; if the answer is no, go to number 3:

 

3) Does any part of the action area contain floodplains or forested slopes that lie within the potential range of Minnesota dwarf trout lily (Fig. 1)? If yes, go to number 4; if no, go to number 5. Contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 612.725-3548 if you are uncertain about the correct answer to this question and/or to obtain a GIS shapefile of the area shown in Fig. 1.

 

4) Determine whether the proposed action may affect Minnesota dwarf trout lily. Contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (612.725-3548) if you are uncertain about the appropriate determination. Consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under Section 7(a)(2) of the Act is required if the proposed action may affect Minnesota dwarf trout lily or any other species listed as endangered or threatened under the Act.

 

5) Minnesota dwarf trout lily is not likely to be present in the action area.

 

Distribution

Recorded populations of Minnesota dwarf trout lily occur along the Cannon River, Little Cannon River, Zumbro River, North Fork Zumbro River, and Prairie Creek watersheds in Goodhue, Rice, and Steele Counties, Minnesota (Fig. 1). Surveys are incomplete especially along the Straight River and its associated subwatersheds in Steele County and in the upper reaches of the Middle Fork Zumbro River watershed in Dodge and Goodhue Counties – there may also be unsurveyed habitat along Maple Creek and Medford Creek in Steele County (N. Sather, pers. comm., 2003, Fig. 1).

 

¹ Some Minnesota dwarf trout lily populations occur in floodplains. Therefore, it is important for agencies to consider the potential downstream effects of projects that impact stream hydrology. Bridge crossings and utility rights-of-way are examples of actions that may occur in floodplains and that could result in indirect effects to this species.

 

Figure 1. All recorded populations of Minnesota dwarf trout lily (Erythronium propullans) occur within the green area, which may also contain unrecorded populations of the species. Action agencies must also determine whether any other listed species may be affected by their proposed or ongoing actions. For further information, contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (612) 725-3548.

Updated June 26, 2008

 

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