Call to Order
Steve Prchal made a spelling correction to one of the species added to Table 4D during the previous meeting. Rothchildia cinta should be Rothschildia cincta. No other corrections were made and the minutes were approved by all members present.Tasks and Responsibilities of STAT
Bill Shaw talked about the tasks and responsibilities for STAT, along with the steps to develop the biological element of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Bill also explained the relationship between the environmental consultant and STAT, and he reviewed the chart of all the SDCP roles and reports to show the big picture. Handouts (three pages) displaying this information were provided to all present.Revisions to "Species" Report
Julia Fonseca mentioned the draft environmental history for Pima County which was developed in response to a comment made at the previous meeting. Sherry Ruther and Gary Nabhan had some comments which they will provide in writing.David Scalero discussed some of the changes and revisions to the "Species of Concern" report which reflect the oral comments made at the last meeting. Written comments from the STAT members have not been included within the report yet. In addition, David described the tables he prepared, which compared species listed as "Wildlife Species of Concern" by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to those in the original "Species of Concern" report which was presented to STAT. Only species with occurrences of 0-20 were listed in these tables. These were presented to the STAT members to assist them in determining if any more species should be added to the list for conservation under the SDCP.
Natasha Kline and Gary Nabhan talked about reorganizing the species tables according to the following criteria: (1) sensitive species/biodiversity vulnerability (with priority given to the most vulnerable); (2) spatial scale species (e.g. large animals, animals of social significance, etc.); (3) species which adversely affect sensitive species (e.g. exotics and cowbirds); and (4) surrogates or umbrella species. A consensus was made by the STAT members to have staff reorganize the tables.
Vegetation Mapping for the SDCP
Julia Fonseca presented a summary of the vegetation mapping efforts for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Suggestions were made by the STAT members to include threats to the community (e.g. development, hydrological integrity, fire suppression, successional issues, and exotics) within the vegetative mapping report. This will include a map using the most recent GAP vegetation layer, public preserves, and developed areas. Staff will continue working on this for the next meeting. Copies of the overhead Julia made for the current report will be provided to the STAT.Biological Goals
Bill Shaw presented the goals and objectives for the biological element of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Sherry Ruther and Leslie Dierauf made some comments (deletions and additions) to the text. The biological goals and objectives were accepted by the STAT members, subject to the changes discussed.Change to Agenda
Bill Shaw proposed a change to the agenda to hold the discussion on Request-for-Proposals at the end of the meeting. This change was unanimously accepted by all the STAT members present.Selection of Independent Peer Reviewers
Bill Shaw proposed two people for peer review of all work performed by the STAT, Dr. Reed Noss and Ms. Laura C. Hood. A consensus was made by all STAT members to ask these two people to be peer reviewers. STAT members also asked for an item to be placed on the next meeting's agenda to discuss how peer review will be implemented.Leslie Dierauf offered to create a two-page summary of criticisms of peer review of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP's). She will also provide a list of names of scientists who understand HCP's, in order for STAT to select more reviewers.
Subareas for the SDCP
Julia Fonseca and Maeveen Behan discussed the subarea planning units for the SDCP. These planning units will be used to separate the Steering Committee into smaller subgroups, who will focus on priorities and responsibilities for their own particular watershed based on the science information provided by STAT.Set Next Meeting
A calendar was passed around to all STAT members present to help schedule a date and time for the next meeting. A meeting date and time will be determined by staff after all members, including those who were not present, have had a chance to look at the calendar.Presentation from Peter Stine
Peter Stine made a presentation on a research proposal regarding "A Governmental Information Systems (GIS) Optimization Method for Conservation Planning." A document explaining this research proposal will be sent to all STAT members.Call to Public
A call to the public was made for any questions or comments; none were made.Request for Proposals and Scope of Work for the SDCP
A discussion session was held regarding the Request for Proposal and Scope of Work for the biological consultant. This session was closed to those who may have a conflict of interest related to the contract.
STAT Members Present:
William Shaw School of Natural Renewable Resources, University of Arizona
Natasha Kline Saguaro National Park
Steve Prchal Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute
Gary Nabhan Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Mark Dimmitt for Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Sherry Ruther Arizona Game and Fish Department
Doug Duncan U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tucson)
STAT Members Absent:
Cecil Schwalbe School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona
Mima Falk Coronado National Forest
Steve DeStefano School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona
Staff:
Julia Fonseca Pima County Flood Control District
David Scalero Pima County Flood Control District
Others:
Maeveen Behan County Administrator's Office
Leslie Dierauf U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peter Stine U. S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division
John Regan Pima County Department of Transportation - Technical Services
Mark Young Entranco
Lori Woods Recon Environmental Consultants
Jim Veomett Pima County Department of Transportation - GIS
Links Endangered Species in Pima County Species of Concern - A discussion paper for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan