EXHIBIT A-1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION & SCOPE OF WORK FOR REVISING Mammal Species of Special Concern in California

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1 Page 1 of 5 EXHIBIT A-1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION & SCOPE OF WORK FOR REVISING Mammal Species of Special Concern in California I. Introduction "Species of Special Concern" (SSC) is a (Department) administrative designation intended to do several things: for animals at conservation risk, focus attention of governmental entities, regulators, land managers, planners, consulting biologists, and others; stimulate research on poorly known species; and achieve conservation and recovery of these animals before they meet California Endangered Species Act criteria for listing as threatened or endangered. See the following website for further information on the SSC designation: SSC documents have been prepared for all vertebrate taxonomic groups; the California Bird Species of Special Concern document has been recently revised and published ( and revisions of the Reptile and Amphibian SSC and Fish SSC documents are currently underway. The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals for a complete revision and update of Mammal Species of Special Concern in California. The Department s first report on mammal species of special concern (MSSC) was prepared by Daniel Williams and released in 1986 ( An interim administrative report on the status of mammals in California was prepared under contract to the Department in 1998 but was never published. In the years since these documents were prepared, our understanding of the conservation status, management needs, and systematics of California s native mammals has changed dramatically and the methods for ranking taxa at risk have been refined. Updates to all SSC documents are essential, as SSCs are integral to implementation of the California s Wildlife Action Plan ( and the SSC designation is used with laws, regulations, state policies, and various state or national initiatives to help conserve species at risk. For the purpose of this RFP, the MSSC project will include assessment of all native, terrestrial mammals that occur naturally in California. Thus, excluded from consideration are marine mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sea otter). Species currently listed as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act will not be included in this assessment ( Species of mammals currently listed under the federal Endangered Species Act and NOT currently state-listed shall be considered de facto MSSC. No further assessment of these species will be necessary; no data need be gathered; no species accounts need be prepared (Table 1). Species recently delisted from either State or federal endangered species lists shall be included as nominees (see II E. below). Table 1. Current Federally-listed but not State-listed Threatened or Endangered Mammals in California Common Name Buena Vista Lake shrew Lesser long-nosed bat Point Arena mountain beaver Pacific pocket mouse San Bernardino kangaroo rat Riparian woodrat Scientific Name Sorex ornatus relictus Leptonycteris yerbabuenae Aplodontia rufa nigra Perognathus longimembris pacificus Dipodomys merriami parvus Neotoma fuscipes riparia Note: Steller (=northern) sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) and Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) are federally-listed but not state-listed marine mammals. However, for the purposes of the MSSC project, these species shall not be included on the MSSC list.

2 Page 2 of 5 The MSSC project will be complementary to other recent SSC efforts, particularly California Bird Species of Special Concern (Shuford and Gardali 2008), and will be consistent with the Department s definitions and uses of SSC documents (Comrack et al. 2008). II. Request for Proposal for California Mammal Species of Special Concern Respondents to this RFP shall prepare proposals that address each of the following categories: A. Data Gathering Respondents shall familiarize themselves with all other SSC efforts currently underway or recently published (such as Shuford and Gardali, 2008). The Department representative will provide links to these documents or otherwise make copies available to respondents. The successful respondent will use the structure, format, and content of these documents in preparing the proposal. Further, respondents should be familiar with past SSC efforts (Remsen 1978, Williams 1986, Jennings and Hayes 1994, Moyle et al. 1995) and the unpublished Brylski et al. (1998) MSSC update. A California Bat Conservation Plan (CBCP) currently in development under contract to the Department will be completed in mid The CBCP will provide current information on the distribution, status, ecology, conservation and management needs of California s 25 bat species, some of which are currently SSCs. Respondents will be responsible for integrating results of this project into the revised MSSC. The Department will provide data from the CBCP to the successful respondent. The Department contact for information about the CBCP is Betsy Bolster (bbolster@dfg.ca.gov). Respondents shall list all relevant primary literature on California s native mammals to be reviewed as part of the MSSC, and shall augment published sources especially when published literature is lacking. Respondents shall articulate methods for gaining expert opinion and unpublished documents and records relevant to the MSSC. B. Technical Advisory Committee Respondents shall describe how a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for the MSSC project will be established. Specifically, indicate how the TAC shall include depth and breadth of taxonomic expertise with California s mammalian fauna, how it will include representative knowledge of key ecosystems within California, and how it will relate and respond to the Contractor and Department. Note that the Department s representative will be included as a TAC member. C. Current List of All California Mammal Taxa Respondents shall describe the process for developing a master list of California mammals to the species and subspecies level. A complete list will include all extant and recently extirpated native California mammalian taxa including marine species and species already listed under state and/or federal endangered species statutes. Include other taxonomic units (e.g., populations) that are of particular interest or concern as necessary. Describe the process for developing this list, including taxonomic authority. D. Current Definition of MSSC Respondents shall define an MSSC in a way that is complementary to other SSC projects ( E. Draft Nominee List of MSSC Respondents shall describe the process to be used and data sources to be examined to develop a nominee list of mammalian taxa of concern in California.

3 Page 3 of 5 F. Metrics to Discriminate MSSCs From Other Taxa The following eight metrics for determination of SSC taxa are based upon the criteria described in Comrack et al. (2008; and on Peter Moyle s approach to the third revision of the freshwater fishes SSC document (Peter Moyle, pers. comm.). Respondents shall determine whether these criteria are suitable for use for the MSSC project and make adjustments as necessary. Under this system, each metric is assigned a point score, generally ranging from 10 0 (20 0 for Range trend, since it is the most important single factor and so may be weighted more heavily than the rest of the metrics). In all cases, a high score indicates that the species is impacted for that metric, and a low score indicates less concern. For many taxa, long-term data on abundance and distribution may not be available and quantitative estimates of trends may not be possible. Under these circumstances, the respondent shall describe the process by which historic versus current abundance, distribution, and/or habitat availability will be described and quantified. 1. Range size - Percentage of California occupied. 2. Range trend - Absent population data, habitat loss may be used as the main estimator. 3. Population concentration - Assesses vulnerability during a particular life stage. Vulnerability includes both migration to the site, and impacts on breeding sites or upland habitats. 4. Percent of entire range in California. 5. Environmental tolerance. 6. Population trend - Estimates change in population size from historic to present. Establish a break point between historic and current time period and document as to validity of approach. 7. Vulnerability to future threats (e.g., climate change). 8. Threats - Estimated impact of known threats to population, such as habitat loss and degradation, and potential stochastic events such as hybridization and disease. G. Score Evaluation and Peer Review Respondents shall describe in detail the process proposed to validate the results of the MSSC scoring exercise. H. Ranking Schemes Respondents shall describe an appropriate method to identify taxa for inclusion on the MSSC list as a whole, and within conservation priority levels. See Shuford and Gardali (2008) for discussion of linear and categorical ranking schemes. I. Document Respondents shall describe the structure of the overall document to be prepared as a result of this project. At a minimum, the following categories shall be required: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Recommendations, Research priorities, Watch List, Appendices. Determine the feasibility of preparing a California Responsibility List (see Shuford and Gardali 2008, p. 32). This list would include all mammalian taxa (species and subspecies level) with all or a very high proportion of their global population occurring in California. The list may include listed, non-listed, and SSC taxa.

4 Page 4 of 5 J. Species Accounts Respondents shall describe the structure and content of each species account. Include the process for preparation of the accounts. The following headings should be considered when preparing the proposal: 1. Status summary: Brief summary of status, including SSC priority and scores. 2. Identification: Description of taxon. 3. Taxonomic relationships: Brief summary of latest information on taxonomic status and systematic relationships. This will include a review of the latest genetic and other systematic studies to justify designations as distinct taxa. 4. Life history: Short description of life history and behavioral traits, citing latest literature. 5. Historic range and abundance: Detailed description of historic geographic range and abundance of species. Distribution trend will be assessed. The rationale for assigning historic versus current to range and abundance data will be described. 6. Current range and abundance: An assessment of short term and long term trends. Information is likely to be anecdotal or incomplete but where numerical data exists, it will be included. 7. Ecological requirements: Habitat requirements for each life history stage, where available. This will include physiological tolerances. 8. Nature and degree of threat: Detailed descriptions of principal threats facing the taxon, including interactions with other species. 9. Climate change: Construct post-climate change ecological niche models to predict ranges in the future for MSSC. (See Cayan DR, Maurer EP, Dettinger MD, Tyree M, Hayhoe K (2008) Climate change scenarios for the California region. Clim Change 87(Suppl 1):S21 S42. doi: /s for model acceptable to the Department). 10. Management and research recommendations: This section will include recommendations for and/or from biologists who are currently managing or studying the species. 11. Monitoring needs: Brief description, as per Shuford and Gardali (2008). 12. Literature cited: Each section will be fully documented using published and unpublished sources, and a complete list of references and sources of information will be provided at the end of the report. If time and funding permit, unpublished materials cited will be scanned and made available in an electronic format for posting in the Department s online document library. K. Maps Respondents shall describe the process for preparation of detailed distribution maps. Locality information will be gathered from museums, CNDDB, and other available sources, and will be used to generate distribution maps for all MSSC. The Department will assist with the compilation of locality data into file(s) suitable for GIS mapping and will generate the draft and final range maps for each taxon. Respondents will be responsible for obtaining expert review and comment on the draft maps. L. Databases Distribution information will be assembled from the electronic database generated through the MSSC project, museum records for other species not considered in the draft MSSC, and by soliciting more recent distribution information from members of the California research community. M. Peer review Each species account and the project as a whole shall be peer reviewed. Ultimately, the final document and species accounts will conform to the Department s overall viewpoint and policies as well as the opinions of the authors, both in the main body of the document and in the individual species accounts. Respondents shall indicate how peer review will be achieved.

5 Page 5 of 5 N. Timeline Respondents shall provide a timeline for completion of key components of the MSSC project. Note that all deliverables must be completed and submitted to the Department by no later than April III. Deliverables Respondents shall be aware that, at a minimum, the following items will be considered mandatory to the completion of the MSSC project: 1. Database with raw scores for all taxa on initial nominee list using a newly-devised set of metrics to quantify the level of concern* 2. List of Mammal Species of Special concern 3. Distribution maps for each MSSC with both current and historic distribution depicted* 4. Species Accounts for all MSSCs*, including expected response of the taxa to predicted climate change 5. Document with Overview (including methods, results, and discussion), Recommendations and Research Priorities, California Responsibility List, Watch List, Appendices. *excluding federally-listed but not state-listed taxa References Brylski, P. V., P.W. Collins, E.D. Pierson, W. E. Rainey and T. E. Kucera Terrestrial mammal species of concern in California. Edited and Finalized by B. C. Bolster, Wildlife Branch, 1812 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, and GIS Mapping by Kristi Fien, Biogeographic Data Branch, th Street, Suite 202, Sacramento, CA (currently only available by special request from bbolster@dfg.ca.gov). Cayan D.R., Maurer E.P., Dettinger M.D., Tyree M., Hayhoe K Climate change scenarios for the California region. Clim Change 87(Suppl 1): S21 S42. Comrack, L., B. Bolster, J. Gustafson, D. Steele, and E. Burkett. April 10, Species of Special Concern: A Brief Description of an Important California Designation. California, Wildlife Branch, Nongame Wildlife Program Report , Sacramento, CA. 4 pp. Jennings, M.R. and M.P. Hayes Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern in California. California, Inland Fisheries Division, Rancho Cordova, CA. Moyle, P.B., R.M.Yoshiyama, J.E. Williams, and E.D. Wikramanayake Fish Species of Special Concern in California. California, Inland Fisheries Division, Rancho Cordova, CA. Remsen, J.V., Jr Bird Species of Special Concern in California: An annotated list of declining or vulnerable bird species. California, Sacramento, CA. Shuford, W.D., and T. Gardali, eds California Bird Species of Special Concern: A ranked assessment of species, subspecies, and distinct populations of birds of immediate conservation concern in California. Studies of Western Birds 1. Western Field Ornithologists, Camarillo, California, and California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento. Williams, D Mammalian Species of Special Concern in California. California Department of Fish and Game, Wildlife Management Division Administrative Report Sacramento, CA.