Call to Order
Minutes from the February 17th Meeting
Minutes for the February 17, 2000 STAT meeting were approved by
all members present.
Announcements
Bill Shaw stated the need for subcommittees to help provide more
meaningful input from the STAT towards the biological goals of
the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Two subcommittees have already
been created in response to the needs for STAT's input on the
Decision Support Model (DSM) and species permitting criteria.
Robert Steidl has been appointed chair of the DSM subcommittee
and Mima Falk is chair of the permitting criteria subcommittee.
Any STAT members interested in participating in either of these
subcommittees should contact the chairperson.
Consultants who need information from the STAT or its subcommittees
should contact Bill Shaw. Subcommittee chairs should contact Julia
Fonseca to inform her of all their meeting dates. Ample lead time
is needed for any meeting date to insure it gets posted appropriately.
Mima Falk, on behalf of the Arizona Native Plant Society, presented
an "award of excellence" to Julia Fonseca in recognition
of her efforts in the protection of native plants through the
Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan process. The award included a
plaque and a plant, tree fig. Congratulations to Julia!
Biological Stress Assessment
Lori Woods provided a brief update on the biological stress assessment
for the SDCP. Information has been gathered and the report is
currently in process. This report will provide a general overview
for the entire county and then focus on each sub-area. Threats
and stresses will not be specific to species because the species
accounts have not been completed. Species-specific threats will
be included in future drafts. The ultimate goal of this process
is the creation of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database
that will analyze land uses, conservation levels, conservation
management, and potential for threats in Pima County.
Information obtained in this assessment will be used in the reserve design process. RECON will incorporate more input from the STAT as this process moves along to June and possibly beyond.
Land Cover Map Analysis
The report on land cover has been completed and was distributed to the STAT. This report describes the current land cover for Pima County, based on existing resources, and prioritizes future mapping needs to improve upon the current information. All of the data provided for this study is stored in a GIS database and can be separated out as needed. The map for this report was created using the highest quality data available, which means that it was produced using a composite of resources based on the quality of data they provided for different areas of the SDCP.
In order to provide a more useful map for the SDCP process, a more uniform data set at the vegetation series level is required. More information is needed on aquatic and riparian habitats (high priority), as well as other communities. To help identify problem areas on the current map, RECON has prepared maps for the Arizona Game and Fish Department to review. After identifying the problem areas, RECON will use existing and newly created data, from the experts and other efforts, to update the cover for those areas. Sherry Ruther will chair a subcommittee of the STAT to work with RECON on this process.
Riparian Mapping
The pilot study for riparian habitat mapping by the Harris Environmental
Group is near completion. Items provided to STAT for this meeting
display the sites mapped during the first phase of this study
and listed the vegetative classification categories. For each
site, a vegetation map was produced using three different resources:
(1) GAP analysis, (2) Pima County's riparian habitat classification
maps and (3) review of aerial photographs (1:4800 scale) and field
work performed by the Harris Group. The map produced by the Harris
Group represents the highest level of detail, with all riparian
vegetation mapped using class association/sub-association levels
for the entire study area.
During the meeting with the Harris Group, Pima County staff and the STAT, a decision was made to simplify the mapping performed during the first phase of the pilot study. The Harris Group is currently mapping the study areas using 1:24,000 scale aerial photographs and existing county riparian polygons mapped at the biome level. New polygons representing riparian vegetation will be added where visible at the 1:24,000 scale. The final report for the pilot is due by mid-April.
The overall mapping efforts performed by the Harris Group for the entire SDCP area will include data from other studies currently in progress. Classification for this effort will be placed on floristics, not vegetative volume, and identifying mesoriparian vegetation will be the primary focus.
Nathan Sayre asked if erosion processes were considered as a criterion during the riparian vegetation mapping process. Bill Shaw stated that erosion is considered to be a potential stress, and will be discussed in the threats/stresses analysis being performed by RECON.
Sonoran Desert Ecoregion Plan
Rob Marshall gave a brief presentation on the cooperative efforts
by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and others in the development
of the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion Plan. This plan identifies various
potential conservation sites throughout the Sonoran Desert ecoregion,
which includes most of Pima County. The determination of these
sites was based on biological information for a number of target
species and vegetative communities provided by the State Heritage database, GIS coverages for the region, other ongoing studies, and data provided during an experts workshop in May 1998.
Over 100 conceptual conservation sites are mapped by TNC for the entire ecoregion, of which 14 are located in Pima County. Sites located in Pima County include Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, the Waterman Mountains, portions of the Tohono O'odham Nation, Baboquivari Mountains, Tortolita Mountains, Sawtooth-Silverbell Mountains and some areas near Tucson.
A handout was provided to the STAT which provides a more detailed
description of this study.
Bill Shaw stated that the information produced by the study would
be useful for the SDCP process, if it can be made available to
the STAT. Rob Marshall explained the need for TNC to verify the
sources of information used for the study and to finalize their
report before the information can be released to the public. Once
finished, the report and all verified sources of information will
be made available to the STAT. The report will be completed in
early April.
Ranch Team Presentation
Four members of the Ranch Conservation Technical Advisory Team
(RCTAT) made brief presentations on their current efforts for
the SDCP. Tom Sheridan distributed a handout that explained their
mission statement and presented a brief explanation of the history
of ranching and the goals of the RCTAT. Dan Robinett provided
an overview of ranch management; how it has changed over the last
thirty years. Nathan Sayre gave a brief explanation of the economics
of ranching and Micaela McGibbon presented a personable description
of the ranch community.
A main point of emphasis during the presentations was that the ranching community provides an inexpensive means to conserve open space and protect habitat from destruction or fragmentation by wildcat subdivisions and suburban development. Incentives are needed by the ranching community to ensure profitability for them and their future generations. The RCTAT is working to keep the ranching community involved in the SDCP process and ensure the continuance of this heritage, which will ultimately be beneficial to the other goals of the SDCP.
In conclusion, Linda Mayro presented a brief overview on the work being done by county staff and the RCTAT. Some GIS databases have been created, two maps were displayed, and the team is currently working on papers explaining threats to ranching, economic assessment, and conservation opportunities.
Pima Pineapple Cactus Recovery Plan
Mima Falk's presentation on the recovery plan for the federally
endangered Pima Pineapple Cactus was deferred to the April 13th
meeting of the STAT.
Recommended Species for the Decision Support Model
Paul Fromer provided a revised list of species and vegetation
communities to the STAT which identifies potential conservation
targets and constraints for the Decision Support Model. This is
only a preliminary list, meant to help the STAT get started on
determining conservation targets for Peter Stine's group. STAT
will hold a workshop on April 13 to create the final list of targets
for the DSM.
The draft revision to the vulnerable species list was also distributed
for review.
Effluent-based Riparian Restoration Projects
Julia Fonseca presented a brief overview on the current riparian
restoration efforts by the county using effluent water resources
and explained the need for STAT's input to guide these efforts
towards more environmentally beneficial solutions. Julia also
mentioned a new study being conducted by the Pima Association
of Governments to review the proximity of water company pumping
to perennial and intermittent streams throughout Pima County.
Further discussions on this item will be held during future STAT
meetings.
Review of Stream Prioritization Report
A draft report titled, "Prioritization of Streams for Conservation;
Pima County, Arizona," was distributed to STAT for this meeting.
This report presents a total of 71 streams, including those identified
in Sub-area 8, which are considered high priority for interim
conservation planning measures. Pima County staff requests that
STAT review this report and provide any comments they have to
David Scalero.
News from Other Elements of the SDCP
No new news for any of the other elements.
Call to the Public
Jonathan DuHamel made a comment to the STAT and other technical
teams to consider mineral resources and mining districts during
their discussions and analyses for the Sonoran Desert Conservation
Plan. Two sources for this information are mining claims filed
through the Bureau of Land Management and mineral resource data
from the U. S. Geological Survey.
Future Meeting Dates
Name Affiliation
STAT Members Present:
William Shaw School of Renewable Natural Resources, University
of Arizona
Sherry Ruther Arizona Game and Fish Department
Natasha Kline Saguaro National Park
Mima Falk U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Steve Prchal Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute
Robert Steidl School of Renewable Natural Resources, University
of Arizona
STAT Members Absent:
Gary Nabhan Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Cecil Schwalbe U. S. G. S. & School of Renewable Natural Resources,
University of Arizona
Doug Duncan U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tucson)
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
Lori Woods RECON Environmental, Inc.
Paul Fromer RECON Environmental, Inc.
Ken Kingsley SWCA, Inc.
Lisa Harris Harris Environmental Group
Susy Morales Harris Environmental Group
Jennifer Wennerlund Dames and Moore
Russell Duncan R. B. Duncan and Associates
Rob Marshall The Nature Conservancy
Harold Barnett Department of Economics, URI and SDCP Implementation
Team
Tom Sheridan Ranch Conservation Technical Advisory Team
Dan Robinett Natural Resource Conservation Service
Nathan Sayre Ranch Conservation Technical Advisory Team
Micaela K. McGibbon Ranch Conservation Technical Advisory Team
Gary Shellhorn Louis Berger Group
Mikaila Milton Citizen
Trevor Hare Tucson Herpetological Society
John Regan Pima County Technical Services (GIS)
Linda Mayro Pima County
Jonathan DuHamel Citizen