40.240.870 General Management Areas Rare Plant Review Criteria
A. Rare Plants and Site Plans for Review of Uses Near Rare Plants.
1. Proposed uses shall not adversely affect rare plants. “Rare plants” are:
a. Endemic to the Columbia River Gorge and vicinity. Table 40.240.870-1 lists the endemic plants as of the date of adoption of the Management Plan revision, which the Gorge Commission developed in consultation with the Washington Natural Heritage Program;
b. Listed as endangered or threatened pursuant to federal or state endangered species acts;
c. Designated global or state status rank 1, 2, or 3 by the Washington Natural Heritage Program. This includes designated native plant communities;
d. Updated lists of plant species and ecosystems included in subsections (A)(1)(b) and (c) of this section can be found on the website for the Washington Natural Heritage Program. The Forest Service and the Gorge Commission also maintain updated lists.
2. In addition to the information required in site plans, site plans for uses within one thousand (1,000) feet of a rare plant site shall include a map prepared at a scale of one (1) inch equals one hundred (100) feet (1:1,200), or a scale providing greater detail.
3. Proposed uses within one thousand (1,000) feet of a rare plant shall be evaluated for adverse effects, including cumulative effects, and adverse effects shall be prohibited.
|
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
|---|---|
|
Howell’s bentgrass |
Agrostis howellii |
|
Hood River milk-vetch |
Astragalus hoodianus |
|
Smooth-leaf douglasia |
Douglasia laevigata var. laevigata |
|
Howell’s daisy |
Erigeron howellii |
|
Columbia Gorge daisy |
Erigeron oreganus |
|
Klickitat biscuitroot |
Lomatium klickitatense |
|
Long-beard hawkweed |
Hieracium longiberbe |
|
Smooth desert parsley |
Lomatium laevigatum |
|
Suksdorf’s desert parsley |
Lomatium suksdorfii |
|
Barrett’s penstemon |
Penstemon barrettiae |
|
Obscure buttercup |
Ranunculus reconditus |
|
Oregon sullivantia |
Sullivantia oregana |
|
Columbia kittentails |
Synthyris stellate |
(Amended: Ord. 2018-03-04)
B. Uses.
Uses allowed outright in rare plant areas are listed in Section 40.240.120.
C. Field Survey. A field survey to identify rare plants shall be required for:
1. Land divisions that create four (4) or more parcels;
2. Recreation facilities that contain parking areas for more than ten (10) cars, overnight camping facilities, boat ramps, and visitor information and environmental education facilities;
3. Public transportation facilities that are outside improved rights-of-way;
4. Electric facilities, lines, equipment, and appurtenances that are thirty-three (33) kilovolts or greater; and
5. Communications, water and sewer, and natural gas transmission (as opposed to distribution) lines, pipes, equipment, and appurtenances and other project-related activities, except when all of their impacts will occur inside previously disturbed road, railroad or utility corridors, or existing developed utility sites, that are maintained annually;
6. Field surveys shall cover all areas affected by the proposed use or recreation facility. They shall be conducted by a person with recognized expertise in botany or plant ecology hired by the project applicant. They shall be conducted when plants are expected to be flowering or most easily detectable. Field surveys shall identify the precise location of the rare plants and delineate a two hundred (200) foot buffer zone. The results of a field survey shall be shown on the site plan map and kept confidential by the responsible official as required by state law.
D. Uses not listed in Section 40.240.870(B) may be allowed within one thousand (1,000) feet of a rare plant, when approved pursuant to Section 40.240.870(E), and reviewed under the applicable provisions of Sections 40.240.800 through 40.240.900.
E. Uses that are proposed within one thousand (1,000) feet of a rare plant shall be reviewed as follows:
1. Site plans shall be submitted to the Washington Natural Heritage Program by the responsible official. The Natural Heritage Program staff will review the site plan and their field survey records. They will identify the precise location of the affected plants and delineate a two hundred (200) foot buffer zone on the project applicant’s site plan. If the field survey records of the state heritage program are inadequate, the project applicant shall hire a person with recognized expertise in botany or plant ecology to ascertain the precise location of the affected plants.
2. The rare plant protection process may conclude if the responsible official, in consultation with the Natural Heritage Program staff, determines that the proposed use would be located outside of a rare plant buffer zone.
3. New uses shall be prohibited within rare plant buffer zones, except those listed in Section 40.240.870(B).
4. If a proposed use must be allowed within a rare plant buffer area in accordance with Section 40.240.150, the project applicant shall prepare a mitigation plan pursuant to Section 40.240.870(F).
5. The responsible official shall submit a copy of all field surveys and mitigation plans to the Washington Natural Heritage Program. The Natural Heritage Program staff will have twenty (20) days from the date that a field survey is sent to submit written comments to the responsible official.
6. The responsible official or examiner shall record and address any written comments submitted by the Natural Heritage Program staff in the land use review order.
7. Based on the comments from the Natural Heritage Program staff, the responsible official or examiner will make a decision on whether the proposed use would be consistent with the rare plant policies and guidelines. If the decision contradicts the comments submitted by the Natural Heritage Program staff, the responsible official or examiner shall justify how the opposing conclusion was reached.
F. Rare Plant Mitigation Plans.
Rare plant mitigation plans shall minimize and offset unavoidable impacts that result from a new use that occurs within a rare plant buffer zone as the result of a variance.
1. Rare plant mitigation plans shall be prepared by a professional botanist or plant ecologist hired by the project applicant.
2. Construction, protection, and rehabilitation activities shall occur during the time of the year when ground disturbance will be minimized and protection, rehabilitation, and replacement efforts will be maximized.
3. Rare plants that will be altered shall be transplanted or replaced, to the maximum extent practicable. “Replacement” is used here to mean the establishment of a particular plant species in areas of suitable habitat not affected by new uses. Replacement may be accomplished by seeds, cuttings, or other appropriate methods. Replacement shall occur as close to the original plant site as practicable. The project applicant shall ensure that at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the replacement plants survive three (3) years after the date they are planted.
4. Rare plants and their surrounding habitat that will not be altered shall be protected and maintained. Appropriate protection and maintenance techniques shall be applied, such as fencing, conservation easements, livestock management, and noxious weed control.
5. Habitat of a rare plant that will be affected by temporary uses shall be rehabilitated to a natural condition.
6. Protection efforts shall be implemented before construction activities begin. Rehabilitation efforts shall be implemented immediately after the plants and their surrounding habitat are disturbed.
7. Rare plant mitigation plans shall include maps, photographs, and text. The text shall:
a. Describe the biology of rare plant species that will be affected by a proposed use.
b. Explain the techniques that will be used to protect rare plants and their surrounding habitat that will not be altered.
c. Describe the mitigation actions that will minimize and offset the impacts that will result from a proposed use.
d. Include a three (3) year monitoring, maintenance, and replacement program. The project applicant shall prepare and submit to the responsible official an annual report that documents milestones, successes, problems, and contingency actions.
G. Rare Plant Buffer Zones.
1. A two hundred (200) foot buffer zone shall be maintained around rare plants. Buffer areas shall remain in an undisturbed, natural condition.
2. Buffer zones may be reduced if a project applicant demonstrates that intervening topography, vegetation, manmade features, or natural plant habitat boundaries negate the need for a two hundred (200) foot radius. Under no circumstances shall the buffer zone be less than twenty-five (25) feet.
3. Requests to reduce buffer areas shall be considered if a professional botanist or plant ecologist hired by the project applicant:
a. Identifies the precise location of the rare plants;
b. Describes the biology of the rare plants; and
c. Demonstrates that the proposed use will not have any negative effects, either direct or indirect, on the affected plants and the surrounding habitat that is vital to their long-term survival.
d. All requests shall be prepared as a written report. Published literature regarding the biology of the affected plants and recommendations regarding their protection and management shall be cited. The report shall include detailed maps and photographs.
4. The responsible official shall submit all requests to reduce rare plant species buffer areas to the Washington Natural Heritage Program. The Natural Heritage Program staff will have twenty (20) days from the date that such a request is sent to submit written comments to the responsible official.
5. The responsible official or examiner shall record and address any written comments submitted by the Washington Natural Heritage Program in the administrative or examiner’s decision.
6. Based on the comments from the Washington Natural Heritage Program, the responsible official or examiner will make a decision on whether the reduced buffer area is justified. If the decision contradicts the comments submitted by the Natural Heritage Program staff, the responsible official or examiner shall justify how the opposing conclusion was reached.
(Amended: Ord. 2006-05-04; Ord. 2021-12-02)