Port Mackenzie Rail Extension Biological Assessment

This Biological Assessment addresses potential effects of the Alaska Railroad Corporation’s (ARRC or Applicant) proposed Port MacKenzie Rail Extension on federally listed threatened and endangered species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. After consulting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries on potential threatened or endangered species that could be affected, the Surface Transportation Board Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) determined that the proposed project could indirectly affect the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). SEA identified and evaluated potential indirect effects on beluga whale that include:

1. beluga whale forage fish at freshwater stream crossings that support anadromous salmon and smelt throughout the proposed project area
2. induced noise and disturbance effects in the immediate vicinity of Port MacKenzie at the entrance of the Knik Arm, as a result of induced increases in vessel traffic to and from Port MacKenzie.

SEA, in consultation with NOAA Fisheries, did not identify any direct impacts from the proposed project to the beluga whale or beluga whale habitats in the waters of Cook Inlet or within the lower reaches of the Susitna River or the Little Susitna River.