Call to Order
Minutes from the April 24th Meeting
Minutes for the May 25, 2000 STAT meeting were approved by all
members present, with one minor correction. The second sentence
on the second page was deleted from the text.
News from other elements of the SDCP
A draft processing schedule for the Sonoran Desert Conservation
Plan was distributed to the STAT. The most critical date is January
2001, when a technical draft of the Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be sent to
the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for review. STAT will need
to review the two documents prior to this time period. A request
was made by Pima County staff for the STAT to review and comment
on the schedule and determine any other information that Pima
County could provide to assist the STAT in the biological assessment
for the SDCP.
Phil Rosen, through a contract with Pima County, is currently drafting a report on the protection and recovery of native fish and frogs in Pima County. The report covers current locations and conditions as well as potential recovery areas and management for native fish and frog species. This report will be used to provide better information to the Decision Support Model effort.
Priority Species Report
A copy of the recently completed "Priority Vulnerable Species"
report was distributed to the STAT. Thanks were given to Ken Kingsley
and his staff at SWCA for their work in providing the bulk of
the information, and Leslie Smith at RECON for providing the graphics
and maps to the report. Other thanks were given to some of the
expert reviewers such as Phil Rosen (herps) and Mima Falk (plants)
for their input.
This report provides general descriptions, distributions, status and other characteristics for 56 vulnerable species that were chosen by the STAT for their potential coverage under the SDCP. The information presented is based on existing data, with some assumptions made regarding species distributions. RECON will take this process a step further by creating a habitat matrix and using it to produce models for determining potential distributions for each species.
The Priority Vulnerable Species report is considered to be in draft form, and is open for review by the STAT. All comments and revisions should be directed to Ken Kingsly at SWCA.
Discussions took place regarding the release of potentially sensitive information in the report. The concern is that descriptions and maps of existing locations could jeopardize the existence of certain species if released to the general public. To resolve the issue, it was agreed to remove a few specific maps and tables with species locations from the report for general distribution, but make them available for public view on site at the County Administrator's office.
Reserve Design Guidelines
A handout describing some ideas on reserve design guidelines was
provided in the packet sent to the STAT for this meeting. The
information presented in the handout was only meant to provide
background information and be used for general discussions; it
will not be included in the final document.
Riparian Restoration Guidelines
A handout containing the revised riparian restoration guidelines
was provide in the STAT packet. These guidelines were adopted
by the STAT. Julia Fonseca provided a second handout listing priority
restoration projects that utilize effluent or reclaimed water.
This prioritization was developed by the riparian subcommittee
based on the biological merits of the projects, not on other social
values.
Another draft of the stream prioritization report was provided in the STAT packet. This report uses existing data on water availability, area of high density or hydromesic vegetation, and presence of fish species to prioritize streams for conservation and restoration efforts. The current draft provides an update on new information that has been obtained and evaluated for this task since April 2000. Any comments and/or revisions by the STAT and others should be directed to David Scalero at Pima County.
Decision-Support Model subcommittee
Peter Stine gave a brief update on the progress of the Decision
Support Model effort. So far, four target species have been selected
including Pima Pineapple Cactus (PPC), Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
(CFPO), riparian woodlands and ranid frogs. Data has been obtained
from Mima Falk for the PPC. Data for the CFPO has been sent by
the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
During the last meeting of the subcommittee for the riparian woodland conservation target, it was decided to modify the target to only include cottonwood-willow communities. The full range of riparian vegetation as a target could possibly leave out some important areas during the optimization process. The subcommittee is currently working on obtaining the data (i.e., elevation, water availability, etc.) needed for this target.
The subcommittee for ranid frogs also had to modify the conservation target. Existing locations of native frogs will be considered a constraint for the model, with inclusion of those areas needed in the outcome of the reserve design solution. The conservation target was separated into three categories: areas currently occupied by native frogs with no predators, areas occupied by native frogs and their predators, and areas for possible restoration of native frog species. As mentioned previously, Phil Rosen's report on native fish and frogs will be used to provide data for this effort.
A key item needed from the STAT is a set of quantified goals for
each conservation target. Sherry Barrett provided a handout describing
efforts from other MHCP's to address goals for target species.
Optimally, these goals should be determined before January 2001.
In addition, the STAT will also need to determine other conservation
targets for the Decision Support Model (the present list of four
is not enough).
The Decision Support Model team is fully assembled and will have plenty of time to focus on the effort for the SDCP. An advisory team has been established and will hold their first meeting in August of this year.
Land cover subcommittee
Land cover information has been completed for Saguaro National
Park East. This data has been sent to RECON for their use in updating
the land cover map.
Julia Fonseca displayed another data layer obtained by Pima
County (GIS), roadless areas in Pima County. Information obtained
to create this layer came from Pima County's roadway atlas, the
U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Forest Service. The cover
includes all roadways (i.e., small and large, dirt and paved).
Color shading is used to compare areas with different (low to
high) roadway densities.
Criteria for Permits
A handout was distributed to the STAT with the revised goals statement
and standards for recommending species for Section 10 permits.
Any comments should be sent to Bill Shaw prior to the next STAT
meeting.
Problematic Species Report
An outline for the report on potentially problematic species was
distributed to the STAT. Any comments regarding this task should
be sent to Pima County staff, who will then forward them to RECON/SWCA.
Announcements
The Ranch Technical Advisory Team will be holding a field trip
with the STAT to visit the Arivaca area. Julia Fonseca will contact
Nathan Sayre to determine the exact date and time of the trip.
Sherry Barrett stated that Pinal County is currently interested in developing a habitat conservation plan. Funding is their main issue at this time. Gail Kobetich is working with them, and Pima County has offered to give Geographic Information Systems support.
Future Meeting Dates
The next meeting of the Science and Technical Advisory Team will
be on July 27, 2000. The meeting will be held from approximately
9:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M., at the Water Resource Research Center.
Future meeting dates include: August 21 and September 18. Times
will be the same as above, unless specified otherwise. Julia Fonseca
and Bill Shaw will determine possible meeting dates for the remainder
of the year and present them to STAT at the next meeting.
STAT Members Present:
William Shaw School of Renewable Natural Resources, University
of Arizona
Steve Prchal Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute
Robert Steidl School of Renewable Natural Resources, University
of Arizona
Doug Duncan U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tucson)
Sherry Ruther Arizona Game and Fish Department
Cecil Schwalbe U. S. G. S. School of Renewable Natural
Resources, University of Arizona
STAT Members Absent:
Gary Nabhan Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Mima Falk U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Natasha Kline Saguaro National Park
Staff:
Julia Fonseca Pima County Flood Control District
David Scalero Pima County Flood Control District
Neva Connolly Pima County Flood Control District
Others:
Sherry Barrett U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Lori Woods RECON Environmental, Inc.
Paul Fromer RECON Environmental, Inc.
Leslie Smith RECON Environmental, Inc.
Ken Kingsley SWCA
Maeveen Behan Pima County
Gale Kobetich U. S. Department of the Interior
Peter Stine U. S. Geological Survey
Mike Gilpin University of California, San Diego
Harold Barnett Department of Economics, URI and SDCP Implementation
Team
Trevor Hare Tucson Herpetological Society
Diana Freshwater Arizona Open Land Trust
Francis Werner Steering Committee Member
Carl D. Jones Arizona State Forestry (retired)