Endangered Species Act Section 7 Biological Opinion: Knik Arm Crossing, Anchorage, Alaska

The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highways Administration (FHA), has requested_ formal consultation on the Knik Arm Crossing (KAC) Project at Anchorage, Alaska by letter dated July 1, 2010. This document constitutes NMFS' opinion on the effects of that action on the endangered species in accordance with section 7 of the ESA. Specifically, this opinion analyzes the effects of the Knik Arm Crossing on the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) (73 FR 62919, October 22, 2008). In formulating this Biological Opinion, NOAA Fisheries used information presented in the FHA's June 2010 Biological Assessment of the Knik Arm Crossing. the October 2008 Conservation Plan for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale, the 2008 Status Review and Extinction Risk Assessment of Cook Inlet Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). and the 2008 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Subsistence Harvest, A Review of Beluga Whale Behavior and Response to In-Water Structures prepared for the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority, along with other research relating to beluga whales and information provided by NOAA's National Marine Mammal Laboratory, the State of Alaska, and the traditional knowledge of the Alaska Native community.