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Endangered Resource Review for the Proposed Magnum FM Tower, Dane County (ERR Log# 13-881) Section A. Location and brief description of the proposed project Based on information provided by in the ER Review Request form and attached materials, the proposed project consists of the following: This project is located in the Town of Rutland in Dane County(T05N R10E S34). The project involves the construction of a 488-foot guyed tower on the Stoughton Farms property.A fenced, 20-foot by 20-foot gravel compound will be constructed at the base of the tower.A maintained grass drive will provide access to the site. The site is currently an untilled,fallow field. It is best to request ER Reviews early in the project planning process. However, some important project details may not be known at that time. Details related to project location, design, and timing of disturbance are important for determining both the endangered resources that may be impacted by the project and any necessary follow-up actions. Please contact the ER Review Program whenever project plans change or new details become available to confirm if results of this ER Review are still valid. Section B. Endangered resources recorded from within the project area and/or surrounding area Birds • Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), a bird listed as Special Concern, prefers freshwater wetlands dominated by bulrush and cattail with small groves of alder,willow, or other brush.The recommended avoidance period is from April 15-July 31. Natural Communities • Wet Prairie This is a rather variable tall grassland community that shares characteristics of prairies, southern sedge meadow, calcareous fen and even emergent aquatic communities.The wet prairies' more wetland-like character can mean that sometimes very few obligate prairie species are present. Many of the stands assigned to this type by Curtis are currently classified as wet-mesic prairies. In wet prairie the dominant graminoids may include Canada bluejoint grass, cordgrass, and marsh wild-timothy, plus several sedge species including lake sedge,water sedge, and woolly sedge. Many of the herbs are shared with the wet-mesic prairies, but the following species are often prevalent: New England aster, swamp thistle, northern bedstraw, yellow stargrass, cowbane,tall meadow-rue, golden alexander, and mountain-mint. Plants • Earleaf Foxglove (Agalinis auriculata), a State Special Concern plant, is found in prairies or open upland woods. Blooming occurs from late August through early September. The optimal identification period for this species is late August through early September. Reptiles • Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingil)are listed as a Threatened species in Wisconsin. They utilize a wide variety of aquatic habitats including deep and shallow marshes, shallow bays of lakes and impoundments where areas of dense emergent and submergent vegetation exists, sluggish streams, oxbows and other backwaters of rivers, drainage ditches(usually where wetlands have been drained), and sedge meadows and wet meadows adjacent to these habitats. This species is semi-terrestrial and individuals may spend a good deal of time on land. They often move between a variety of wetland types during the active season, which can extend from early March to mid-October.They overwinter in standing ER Review Log# 13-881 Page 2