Call to Order
Minutes from the June 23rd Meeting
Minutes for the June 23, 2000 STAT meeting were approved by all
members present.
News from other elements of the SDCP
The STAT discussed the concerns of ranchers over the effects of
the habitat conservation plan on grazing in Pima County. Some
concerns, such as taxation and easements, will be addressed outside
of the STAT. Wednesday's (July 26) field trip reemphasized the
need for better communication between the STAT and the Ranch Conservation
Technical Advisory Team on areas of mutual concern and the limits
of the STAT's purview.
Bill Shaw will distribute letters, thanking members of the ranch team for running the field trip to Arivaca and the surrounding areas. "Thank you" letters will also be sent to the various property owners for allowing the teams to visit their properties.
Technical Review of Priority Vulnerable Species Information
The STAT discussed technical review of the work submitted by the
biological consultants to the STAT. The work to be reviewed includes
the complete set of species accounts for the Priority Vulnerable
Species, habitat data analysis, reserve design alternatives, species
distribution maps, etc. that will be included in the appendices
to the habitat conservation plan. The technical review will be
performed both on a species-by-species basis and on the collection
of species as a whole. Maeveen requested that the time line for
review coincide with the riparian mapping effort, which should
be completed in September 2000. The reserve design alternatives,
which includes plant communities, will be completed sometime in
October or November 2000.
Bill Shaw gave two options for the technical review. The first is to form subcommittees to review work on different tasks performed by the consultants. The second proposal was to hire one person to oversee the reviews and bring in outside experts (with STAT oversight) to help in this process. The coordinator would also be responsible for providing a qualitative analysis of the adequacy on species distributions developed by the consultants and performing a sensitivity analysis. All STAT members present adopted the second proposal. Bill Shaw and Julia Fonseca will develop the scope of work (SOW) to hire the coordinator. A draft SOW will be provided to the STAT for review.
Sherry Barrett suggested that the STAT add some species to the list of species recommended for protection under the SDCP: kit fox, desert tortoise, desert bighorn sheep and bears. These species are potential umbrella species that are directly affected by urban development. Protection of these species would help protect a suite of others with smaller home ranges that are threatened by habitat losses due to future development pressures. It was also suggested that these species and others be placed into a species-environment matrix with a ranking or weighting system, and discussed in the narrative for the Reserve Design report.
Riparian committee
A copy of the report on "Aquatic Vertebrate Conservation
in Pima County" was provided to all STAT members in attendance.
Julia Fonseca asked the STAT identify potential outside reviewers
who should receive a copy. Also provided was a handout summarizing
the above report and the Water Usage report that is currently
being developed by Pima Association of Governments (PAG) for Pima
County. Julia Fonseca gave a brief presentation on the PAG report
and displayed some maps showing the distribution of wells along
some of the major watercourses. In addition, Julia displayed some
maps depicting various land forms that were developed using the
PAG 208 maps. These maps could be used as yet another tool for
updating the land cover map for the SDCP.
Criteria for permits subcommittee
Bill Shaw provided a revised draft of the standard for recommending
species for Section 10 permits. Some of the criteria has been
revised from earlier versions to allow for accomplishment of the
goals. The standards are higher than those imposed by Section
10 of the Endangered Species Act. Copies of this handout will
also be provided by e-mail along with a request for all STAT members
to vote on adopting, adopting with revisions, or not adopting
these standards. The deadline for this vote is August 1, 2000.
Decision-Support Model subcommittee
Peter Stine gave a brief update on the progress of the Decision
Support Model teams. So far, four conservation targets have been
selected and subcommittees for each are providing information
towards the modeling effort. A meeting is scheduled for August
10 in Santa Barbara, California for the teams to focus their efforts.
Two major sources of input are still needed from the STAT: more
conservation targets and explicit sets of criteria for each target
to determine the quantity (numbers or percentage) that the STAT
wants to protect. Although it is a difficult process, the latter
will be needed to determine appropriate reserve designs for the
SDCP.
Additional information needs
A list is required from the STAT to prioritize additional information
needs (i.e., species information, land cover, etc.) for the Sonoran
Desert Conservation Plan. Peter Stine and Mima Falk have volunteered
to help write the proposal and scope of work for improving the
existing vegetation maps. Any other suggestions from the STAT
regarding this topic should be directed to Julia Fonseca.
Fall meeting schedule
The next meeting for the Science and Technical Advisory Team is
scheduled for Monday, August 21 from 9:00 A.M. to approximately
11:30 A.M. at the Water Resources Research Center. Other future
dates include September 18 (9:00 A.M.), October 25 (1:00 P.M.),
November 16 (9:00 A.M.) and December 13 (1:00 P.M.).
Announcements
Bill Shaw directed the STAT's attention to Proposition 101, which would limit the effort of the SDCP if passed. Reasons for not passing this proposition may be obtained at the following Internet site: www.noprop100.com. The STAT should consider becoming involved in educating the public on the effects this proposition would have on the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
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
Natasha Kline Saguaro National Park
STAT Members Absent:
Gary Nabhan Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Mima Falk U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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
Gail Kobetich U. S. Department of the Interior
Peter Stine U. S. Geological Survey
Trevor Hare Tucson Herpetological Society
Christina McVie Desert Watch
Adrian Intern Saguaro National Park