Call to Order
Minutes from the December 16th Meeting
Minutes for the December 16, 1999 STAT meeting were approved by
all members present, with one correction: Mima Falk's affiliation
on the attendance list was changed from the Coronado National
Forest to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Introductions
Bill Shaw introduced the newly hired consultants who will be performing
biological services for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
The companies are RECON Environmental, SWCA, the Harris Group,
Dames & Moore and R. B. Duncan and Associates. See attendance
list for the names of people affiliated with these companies.
Scope of Work and Schedule
Paul Fromer, RECON Environmental, stated that the first order
of business will be to gather baseline information and develop
the land cover map. This effort will be followed by gathering
species information and producing the threats assessment. More
detailed descriptions of these and the other tasks are located
in their proposal.
Bill Shaw suggested that the STAT, with help from the consultants,
should change the current term used to describe species which
are presumed to have a negative impact on native species and
environments. The current term, "pest", is regarded
as a negative term and should be replaced with a more positive
one such as invasive exotics or stressors. This item will be placed
on the next meeting's agenda for the STAT to consider.
The Harris Group will be in charge of mapping riparian vegetation coverage for Pima County. Lisa Harris and Julia Fonseca briefly described a pilot study that they are currently working on for the STAT's review. Once the pilot study is complete and the STAT is content with the product, the Harris Group will continue mapping the rest of the SDCP coverage area.
Review of the Environmental Restoration Report
Sherry Ruther and Doug Duncan briefly described their review of
the new report on potential environmental restoration efforts
for Pima County, produced by Pima County staff. Copies of their
comments and recommendations are located in the packages mailed
to the STAT members for this meeting. Julia Fonseca noted that
another handout was included in the packages which describes the
findings from a Master's thesis on wildlife use along major watercourses
in Eastern Pima County. Bill Shaw gave thanks to Sherry and Doug
for their work on this issue and mentioned that more responsibilities
such as this may be delegated to STAT members in the future.
Status of Data Collection
Julia Fonseca described three new maps developed for the SDCP
effort. The Empire-Cienega range site map provides a look at the
biophysical conditions (i.e., soils, climate, etc.) which can
be used to determine the range of possible vegetation types for
the region. Mima Falk noted that the range site's usefulness depends
on the knowledge of the preparer, the current landscape conditions
and the knowledge (or lack thereof) of the processes which might
cause changes in states.
The Pima County Land Cover Map (USGS, EROS 1992) displays vegetation
types located within Pima County. This map was produced completely
independent of the University of Arizona's Gap analysis. It provides
a more detailed description of the cover types (i.e., bare rock
and clays) and a better classification of agriculture and urban
types. One problem with the land cover map, however, is the classification
of grasslands; many tens of thousands of acres are missing. Pima
County GIS has used the EROS map to fill in the upper Santa Cruz
River area of the GAP.
Pima Association of Governments (PAG) completed their study on
streams and shallow groundwater zones located in Pima County and
found a total of 55 perennial reaches and 82 intermittent reaches
along 74 different streams. Data for the study was collected using
literature searches, field notes and observations, and information
from people who called in or sent information by E-mail. PAG only
used the latter information when they were able to verify it during
their field investigations. All data, which includes the presence
of plants and wildlife, was placed into a database and will be
updated in six months. The study should be a good guide to look
for riparian vegetation and determine areas for possible restoration
and conservation efforts. The report produced by PAG for this
study will be made available to all STAT members. Pima County
staff has obtained a copy of the database and is currently working
on an analysis of the data to present to the STAT.
Other Elements of the SDCP
Bill Shaw and Julia Fonseca will be making a presentation on the
STAT's work at the next Ranch Conservation Team meeting on February
14, 2000. The meeting will be held at the Arizona State Museum
in Room 309 at 3:30 P.M. All members of the STAT and the public
are welcome to attend.
Maeveen Behan briefly described the other reports which will be
produced by Pima County and consultants before development of
the preliminary conservation plan in July 2000. A chart listing
these reports will be mailed to all the SDCP technical teams (including
STAT) and members of the Steering Committee.
Call to the Public
No questions or comments were made.
Presentations
Two presentations were given by a couple of distinguished
speakers who have worked previously on other Multi-Species Conservation
Plans (MSCP's) in the United States. Tom Scott from the Center
for Conservation Biology at the University of California, Riverside
described the lessons learned during the development of the Riverside
MSCP. Jerre Stallcup from the Conservation Biology Institute in
San Diego describe the elements used in the development of the
San Diego and Lower Colorado River MSCP's. Copies of the overhead
projections for Jerre's presentation are available in the STAT
package for the next meeting.
Future Meeting Dates
The next meeting is set for Thursday, February 17th from 9:00 a.m to 11:30 a.m at the Water Resources Research Center, 350 N. Campbell Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Other dates for this year include March 23, April 20 and May 25.
STAT Members Present:
William Shaw School of Renewable Natural Resources, University
of Arizona
Sherry Ruther Arizona Game and Fish Department
Doug Duncan U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tucson)
Cecil Schwalbe U. S. G. S. & School of Renewable Natural
Resources, University of Arizona
Mima Falk U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tucson)
Natasha Kline Saguaro National Park
Steve Prchal Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute
STAT Members Absent:
Gary Nabhan Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Robert Steidl School of Renewable Natural Resources, University
of Arizona
Staff:
Julia Fonseca Pima County Flood Control District
David Scalero Pima County Flood Control District
Neva Connolly Pima County Flood Control District
Others:
Maeveen Behan County Administrator's Office
Sherry Barrett U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Gail Kobetich U. S. Department of the Interior
Dave Harlow U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
John Regan Pima County Technical Services (GIS)
Lori Woods RECON Environmental, Inc.
Paul Fromer RECON Environmental, Inc.
Tom Scott Center for Conservation Biology, University of
California, Riverside
Jerre Stallcup Conservation Biology Institute
Linda Mayro Pima County
Lisa Harris Harris Environmental Group
Susy Morales Harris Environmental Group
Ken Kingsley SWCA, Inc.
Bruce Pavlick SWCA, Inc.
Peter Stine U. S. Geological Survey
E. Linwood Smith Dames & Moore
Danielle Stearns Dames & Moore
Russell Duncan R. B. Duncan & Associates
Harold Barnett Department of Economics, URI and SDCP Implementation
Team
Carolyn Campbell Coalition for the Sonoran Desert Protection
Plan
Rachel Kondor Defenders of Wildlife
Bart McGuire Arizona Ranch Manager, City of Tucson
Andy Holdsworth Sky Island Alliance and Coalition for the
Sonoran Desert Protection Plan
Barbara Rose SDCP Steering Committee
O. K. Rihl Forest City
Emily Gubler Student, University of Arizona
Erica Bennett Student, University of Arizona
Hector Conde Town of Oro Valley
Nathan Sayre Arizona State Museum and SDCP Ranch Conservation
Team
Carl D. Jones Retired from AZ State Forestry and SDCP Ranch
Conservation Team
Amy Tinderholt Student, University of Arizona
Valerie Oriol Student, University of Arizona
Mikaila Milton Citizen