Webinar Series on State Wildlife Action Plan Revision

Transcription

1 Webinar Series on State Wildlife Action Plan Revision For audio: Dial: Passcode: # :30pm

2 Partnership opportunities with Department of Defense (DoD) Natural Resource Program to implement State Wildlife Action Plans Agenda 1:00 Welcome Mary Pfaffko, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies 1:05 Partnership opportunities with DoD Natural Resource Program to implement State Wildlife Action Plans Peter Boice, Department of Defense Department of Defense Natural Resources Program overview Sikes Act and Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans overview Funding programs for DoD and state coordination 1:45 Case study: Migratory Linkages of Burrowing Owls on DoD Installations and Adjacent Land Peter Boice, Department of Defense 1:55 Case study: Arizona Sonoran Desert Breeding Bird Survey Edwin Juarez, Arizona Game & Fish Department 2:10 Questions

3 L. Peter Boice Deputy Director, Natural Resources

4 DoD s Natural Resources Program Program Priorities Current Challenges Sikes Act and Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) Partnership Opportunities Wrap-up

5 DoD Natural Resources - The Big Picture DoD is responsible for managing ~28 million acres of land and hundreds of square miles of air and sea space. These lands are ~400 federally-listed species and over 500 species at-risk, including at least 75 found only on DoD lands. DoD is the 5 th largest land managing agency, but harbors more sensitive species per acre than any other federal land managing agency. 9 times more per acre than the Bureau of Land Management 6 times more per acre than the Fish and Wildlife Service 3.5 times more per acre than the National Park Service 4.5 times more per acre than Forest Service

6 Candidate Species: Leadership s Top Priority 251 MDL Candidate Species 125 on DoD Lands 102 have potential to impact mission 12 might have significant impacts

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8 Little Brown Bat (proposed Endangered, Oct. 2013) Taylor s checkerspot butterfly (JB Lewis-McChord) (listed Nov. 2013) Blue Rice Coral (Montipora flabellata) Sandpaper rice coral (Montipora patula) Streaked horned lark (Army and Navy locations in WA and OR) (listed Oct. 2013) Red knot (Navy/Marine Corps East installations from MD to FL) (proposed Threatened, April 2014) Greater sage grouse (Mt. Home AFB; Nellis AFR) FY 15 Washington ground squirrel (Army & Navy in WA and OR) Brand s phacelia (Navy and Marine Corps in southern CA) Louisiana Pine Snake Hirsts panic grass Roy Prairie Pocket gopher (listed May 2014) es

9 More training/testing demands Climate change The ongoing cost of War Sequestration Institutional barriers Future BRAC? Maintaining a trained labor force

10 Minimize costs and impacts to mission through proactive management of candidate species Minimize negative impacts of alternative energy siting on mission readiness and protected species Finalize strategy for amphibian and reptile management (PARC) Address the need for DoD-specific training and professional development through distance learning options (e.g., ESA course) Update species at risk information for DoD installations (newly funded Legacy project!)

11 Tripartite MOU for a Cooperative Integrated Natural Resources Management Program on Military Installations (Sikes Act) INRMP Implementation Manual Pollinator Friendly Management on DoD Lands Strategic Plan for Bird Conservation and Management on DoD Lands MOU to Promote the Conservation of Migratory Birds

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13 All DoD operations, activities, real property, and property interests owned, leased, permitted, or controlled in the United States, including withdrawn public lands. State lands used for military training and testing. DoD operations, activities, and installations in the United States; U.S. territories, trusts, and possessions; and Government-owned and contractor-operated facilities. Approximately 340 current INRMPs.

14 No net loss in the capability of military lands to support the installation military mission Enforcement of applicable natural resource laws and regulations Sustainable public use of natural resources to the extent that the use is not inconsistent with the needs of fish and wildlife resources Public access to a military installation subject to safety and military security requirements

15 Fish and wildlife management, land management, forest management, and fish and wildlife-oriented recreation (Four Pillars) Fish and wildlife habitat enhancement or modifications Wetland protection, enhancement, and restoration, where necessary for support of fish, wildlife, or plants Integration of, and consistency among, the various activities described under the plan Specific natural resource management goals and objectives and time frames for proposed action

16 Ensure sustainability of all ecosystems encompassed by an installation s INRMP Ensure no net loss of the capability of installation lands to support the DoD mission These two goals are closely related and not mutually exclusive Maintaining healthy ecosystems supports realistic training, testing and operations, which in turn promotes mission readiness

17 DoDI Climate Change; Ecosystem Services DoDM (Implementing Manual) Streamlined INRMP review process Tripartite MOU Signed July 2013

18 Improve mission and stewardship integration Integrate a conservation ethic Facilitate military readiness and cost-effective policies through sustained use of natural resources Adds requirement to consider impacts from climate change and to ecosystem services Identify opportunities for improved cooperation, information sharing, technology demonstration and transfer, and public communications

19 Coordination, review and public comment Implementation and special management Specifies INRMP content Ecosystem-based management Introduces new STREAMLINED approach to INRMP reviews for updates

20 Clarifies definitions for: Compliant INRMP INRMP Review INRMP Update INRMP Revision Updated FWS Sikes Act Guidance (in final review) Streamlined review process Definitions consistent w/ MOU Seeks to promote USFWS input to annual metrics Annual Tripartite HQ meeting Possible policy to require USFWS compliance with internal guidance Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency endorsement letter

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23 Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) Western Regional Partnership (WRP) Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs) State Wildlife Action Plan Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (SWAP-INRMP) Collaboration

24 Enable military mission readiness Help sustain testing and training flexibility Comply with all laws and policies

25 How Can DoD and the States Enhance Existing and Develop New Partnerships? Annual meetings with installation personnel Enhanced SWAP-INRMP??

26 Resources Resources

27 Websites DoDNaturalResources.net DoDLegacy.org Social Media Follow us! NR Program Shutterfly (PIF, PARC) Natural Selections Newsletters to get on distribution

28 A Four-Year DoD Legacy Program Project

29 Determine the linkages and connectivity of Burrowing Owl (BUOW) populations throughout North America. Estimate the extent of changes in the breeding distribution Estimate the extent to which individual owls move among populations Test the hypothesis that BUOWs are redistributing their numbers by becoming less migratory. Develop standardized protocols for coordinated efforts to monitor and study BUOWs on DoD installations Quantify the importance of DoD lands to BUOWs Investigate possible causes of population declines

30 Use stable isotope ratios from owl feathers, molecular genetics, and radio telemetry to identify linkages among DoD installations and lands managed by other state and federal partners Quantify land-use of migrating and wintering owls Because BUOWs often nest in close proximity to airfields, telemetry also provides valuable information to the Bird Air Strike Hazard (BASH) program regarding BUOW foraging areas Migratory trajectories Frequency of owl-aircraft strikes.

31 11 Bird Conservation Regions 38 DoD installations, and 20 non-dod locations In10 western U.S. states, plus at least 14 sites in Canada and Mexico

32 BUOWs are becoming less migratory Evidence supporting 1 or 2 unique subspecies in central Mexico. owls at the northern edge of the breeding range are rescued via very high rates of immigration from elsewhere (including the southwestern U.S.) A smaller proportion of BUOWs than originally suspected may survive to dispersal age

33 Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard protocol. Management Plan for the Western Burrowing Owl on at least one Air Force base. Some results published in the book Raptors of New Mexico by Jean Luc Catron. Information from this study has been used to generate BUOW survey and mitigation practices for the states of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.

34 Trained 7 personnel from 6 DoD facilities on BUOW field techniques. Visited and collected samples from >4000 BUOWs at 38 DoD installations and dozens of other locations throughout the bird s breeding distribution in North America. Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit classified this project as a Flagship Project Winner, 2013 Presidential Migratory Bird Federal Stewardship Award Nomination

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36 EDWIN JUAREZ ARIZONA BIRD CONSERVATION INITIATIVE COORDINATOR ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT Partnership Opportunities with Department of Defense (DoD) Natural Resource Program to Implement State Wildlife Action Plans SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 Legacy Projects &

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38 Status Category Federal or state legal status Extirpated status Declining status Vulnerability Disjunct status Demographic status There are 3 tiers of priority among Vulnerable status wildlife Unknown Status Concentration status Fragmentation status Distribution status insufficient information to determine the species Vulnerability

39 Tier 1a: Score 1 for Vulnerability and match at least one of the following: Federally listed as Threatened or Endangered under ESA Candidate species Specifically covered under a signed conservation agreement Require post-delisting monitoring Tier 1b: Score 1 for Vulnerability but match none of the above 4 criteria Tier 1c: Unknown status species 1A: 12 species 1B: 56 species 1C: 76 species

40 Of approximately 150 bird SGCN, most are not monitored sufficiently to determine population trend Mission: coordinate a statewide monitoring program that contributes to informed management decisions for bird conservation and regional and national assessments of bird populations Data assist the AZ Game and Fish Department and cooperating entities in determining: species status distribution and population trends evaluate/predict effects of habitat change determine effects of land management actions assist in establishing management and conservation priorities SWAP Implementation

41 Tier 1B (10 / 9) Rufous-winged Sparrow, Le Conte s Thrasher, Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-owl, Purple Martin (Desert), Gilded Flicker, Bell s Vireo, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Buff-Collared Nightjar, Golden Eagle, Gila Woodpecker Tier 1C (15 / 8) Pyrrhuloxia, Browncrested Flycatcher, Costa s Hummingbird, Elf Owl, Bendire s Thrasher, Common Poorwill, Prairie Falcon, Varied Bunting, Scott s Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Western Screechowl, White-throated Swift, Lucy s Warbler, Phainopepla, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

42 Cactus Wren Many Sonoran species are poorly monitored [e.g., by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS)] Population size and trend estimates are not reliable Objectives: Assess the status and trends of these desertdwelling species Inform conservation strategies for priority species and help keep common species common. Harris s Hawk Photos: J. Arnett, B. Taubert, R Shantz Gilded Flicker

43 Pooling of funding Coordinate with regional and national partners Set specific objectives Sampling frame and methodology Volunteers/crew Data management organization, contribution, analysis, archiving Make data available to users on the web, in workshops, publications (Avian Knowledge Network)

44 Photos by Christina Kondrat-Smith (top) and Geoffrey Bland (bottom), AZGFD

45 Stratified-random sampling design Upper Sonoran desertscrub Lower Sonoran creosotebursage valleys Double Sampling protocol Rapid (2 or 3 visits) plot surveys Intensive (6 or more) plot surveys

46 96 Rapid Surveys 7 Intensive Surveys 89 Rapid Surveys 15 Intensive Surveys 4 Extra intensives 126 Rapid Surveys 6 Intensive Surveys 4 Extra intensives

47 Improved data coverage for roughly 8 of 17 poorly-monitored SGCN species Little data for other species Inherently rare or diffuse Could require species-specific efforts Raptors (Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle) Nightbirds (Buff-collared Nightjar, Elf Owl, CFPO) 2014 pending data entry and analysis

48 Bender Springs, BMGR-East Current focus Estimate population sizes Overall Within strata (including military) Detect bird population trends Identify what may be influencing trends Consider what actions to take Future work (long-term) Maintain engagement from all stakeholders Develop an (active) adaptive management framework Develop specific hypotheses and models Initiate and monitor measurable management actions

49 Conservation delivery Provide information and approaches to inform the development of proactive management measures to maintain Sonoran Desert avian populations and preclude their Federal listing and designation of critical habitat Federal listing of species-at-risk would potentially impair readiness activities conducted on roughly 2.7-million acres of military lands in Arizona Economy of Scale Landscape-level effort supported with monetary and in-kind contributions from multiple regional partners Results in more work being accomplished for the benefit of each installation (and other partners)

50 Facilitate feedback between SWAP (SGCN) and INRMPs Installations with INRMP in Sonoran Desert Barry M. Goldwater Range (USAF and USMC) Yuma Proving Ground (US Army) Florence Military Reservation (AZ Army National Guard) This project provides information and recommendations about SWAP SGCN birds that can be incorporated into INRMPs As installations fulfill INRMP requirements, they support SWAP goals Ideal scenario: All regional partners work to sustain populations of Arizona SCGN birds Preclude additional regulatory burden on the DoD mission

51 Shared Conservation Responsibility Provide needed distribution and population size data Demonstrate DoD s appropriate level of stewardship responsibility Identify stakeholders who share a role in regional-scale bird conservation Species likely to be of most consequence to DoD in southwestern AZ Birds of the Lower Sonoran zone (creosote-bursage valleys) Other key stakeholders BLM USFWS Birds of the Lower-Upper Sonoran transitional zone (mixed desert scrub) Other key stakeholders BLM USFWS USFS Tohono O odham Nation NPS

52 Consistency, Common Currency Sharing of data improves knowledge base Assists with fulfilling agency responsibilities Le Conte s Thrasher Rufous-winged Sparrow

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54 ontacts & resources resenters eter Boice, Department of Defense, dwin Juarez, Arizona Game & Fish Department, eaming With Wildlife website ttp://teaming.com/element-7-partnerships-land-management-agencies-tribes ttp:// DoD Partners in Flight DoD Partners in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Pollinators Threatened & endangered species Candidate species At-risk species Invasive species