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• Areas where there will be construction, especially aquatic areas, should be checked for turtles before the use of heavy equipment or any ground disturbance. o The Blanding's turtle flyer must be given to all contractors working in the area. o Monitor for turtles during construction and report any sightings to the DNR Nongame Specialist, Erica Hoaglund at 651-259-5772 or Erica.Hoaglund@state.mn.us. o If turtles are in imminent danger they must be moved by hand out of harm's way, otherwise, they are to be left undisturbed. If the above avoidance measures are not possible, please contact NHIS.Review@state.mn.us as further action may be needed. For additional information, see the Blanding's turtle fact sheet, which describes the habitat use and life history of this species. The fact sheet also provides two lists of recommendations for avoiding and minimizing impacts to this rare turtle. Please refer to both lists of recommendations and apply those that are relevant to your project. For further assistance regarding the Blanding's turtle, please contactthe DNR Regional Nongame Specialist, Erica Hoaglund. Response: The avoidance measures listed above will be included within the construction specifications for the project in order to educate contractors in an attempt to minimize any potential impacts on protected species. It should be noted that all pond outlets that are a part of the project were designed to the state standard for aquatic organism passage and that the wetland preservation within outlets will provide habitat onsite. 10. Page 16, Rare Features. The project plans to destroy 148 acres of contiguous forested habitat. The EAW states multiple times that 62 acres of the forested area has only established since 2005, and that fallen or dead trees are present indicating that the forested habitat is of poor quality. Please be aware that fallen or dead trees as well as relatively recent forest established within the past 20 years all provide significant wildlife habitat to many species. This level of tree removal would be a huge impact to wildlife in the area. Minnesota has lost much of the deciduous forests that used to present within the region to development, which makes retaining forest, even the small and isolated remnants on the landscape, especially important for wildlife habitat, clean water, and for the recreation/aesthetic values to the residents of the development. Therefore, we recommend minimizing the amount of tree removal to the greatest extent possible and not conducting tree and shrub removal during key nesting periods from April through July. Response: Tree removal will be avoided to the extent feasible during the key nesting period of April through July. As stated previously, approximately 134 acres of land within the 253-acres site will remain in a natural state within outlots following construction. Planting of new trees across the site will otfset the tree removals required to construct the project infrastructure. A planting plan has been developed in compliance with the City of Elk River's City Code (Sec. 30- 934) which includes the planting of 1,575 new trees. It should be noted that much of the project site has previously been disturbed by mining and row crop production and a many of the young trees onsite consist of non-desirable species. A significant amount of the mature trees on-site are either rotted or have fallen as well. Page 4 of 4 952.426.0699 + ISGlnc.com