SURVEYS FOR FOREST SENSITIVE PLANT SPECIES ON THE ROSEMONT PROJECT AREA 2011 ______
ROSEMONT COPPER COMPANY
Prepared for:
ROSEMONT COPPER COMPANY 2450 W. Ruthrauff Road #180 Tucson, Arizona 85705
Prepared by:
4001 E. Paradise Falls Drive Tucson, Arizona 85712
August 2012 Project No. 1049.24 ROSEMONT COPPER redefining mining.
Memorandum
To: Jim Upchurch
Cc: Chris Garrett
From: Kathy Arnold
Doc #: 060/12-15.3.2
Subject: Transmittal of WestLand Reports
Date: September 25, 2012
Rosemont Copper Company is having delivered by courier service the following materials in hard copy and cd format:
• Habitat Characteristics of Two Hexalectris Species in Southern Arizona, by Westland Resources, Inc. dated September 2012 Hard Copies Only • Survey for Hexalectris colemanii and Hexalectric Arizona Across Southeastern Arizona — 2012, by Westland Resources, Inc. dated September 2012 • Biology and Life History of Coleman's Coralrood (Hexalectris colemanii) and Surveys for Hexalectris in 2011, by WestLand Resources, Inc. dated September 2012 • Forest Sensitive Plant Species on the Rosemont Project Area 2011, by Westland Resources, Inc. dated August 2012
Three (3) hard copies and two (2) cds each to the Forest Service and two (2) hard copies and one (1) cd to SWCA.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require anything further.
WEB: www.rosemontcopper.com P.O. Box 35130 TEL : (520) 495 3500 STOCK SYMBOL: AMX TSX - AZC Tucson, Arizona 85740-5130 FAX : (520) 495 3540 Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1. Species Characteristics ...... 1 2. METHODS ...... 5 2.1. Survey Dates ...... 5 2.2. Survey Areas and Habitats ...... 5 2.3. Survey Personnel Training...... 6 2.4. Survey Protocols ...... 7 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...... 8 3.1. Survey Effort...... 8 3.2. Species Studied ...... 8
TABLES
Table 1. Habitat characteristics of the four Forest Sensitive plant species...... 2 Table 2. Morphological and habitat features of Santa Rita yellowshow (A. gonzalezii) and Mexican yellowshow (A. palmatifida)...... 3 Table 3. Morphological and habitat features of Arizona manihot (M. angustiloba) and desertmountain manihot (M. davisiae)...... 4 Table 4. Dates and duration of surveys for four Forest Sensitive plant species in 2011...... 5
FIGURES
Figure 1. Vicinity Map ...... follows text Figure 2. Photographs of Santa Rita yellowshow and Mexican yellowshow showing differences in leaf shape ...... 3 Figure 3. Photographs of Arizona manihot and Desertmountain manihot showing differences in leaf shape ...... 4 Figure 4. Santa Rita yellowshow and Arizona manihot Survey and Location Tracks ...... follows text Figure 5. Beardless chinch weed and Southwestern muhly Survey and Location Tracks...... follows text
WestLand Resources, Inc. ii Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WestLand Resources, Inc. (WestLand) conducted surveys in 2011 for four Coronado National Forest sensitive plant species in the Rosemont Project Area and in additional locations outside the Rosemont Area. These surveys are part of ongoing baseline biological studies in support of the National Environmental Policy Act process to obtain licensing for a copper mine in the northern Santa Rita Mountains. The four species considered here are Santa Rita yellowshow (Amoreuxia gonzalezii), beardless chinch weed (Pectis imberbis), Arizona manihot (Manihot davisiae), and southwestern muhly (Muhlenbergia dubiodes). Surveys were initiated in 2010 and continued in 2011 to determine if these species occurred in the project area and their abundance if present.
Surveys were conducted during August and September of 2011 when these species were in flower. Surveys for Santa Rita yellowshow and Arizona manihot were conducted in August when both of these species are flowering and were conducted in habitats and at elevations where both species are known to occur. Surveys for beardless chinch weed and southwestern muhly were conducted in September when these species were in flower and were focused in habitats where both species are known to occur.
No Santa Rita yellowshow individuals were found in the Rosemont Project Area. A large population of its congener, Mexican yellowshow (A. angustiloba), was found outside the Project Area and several small populations of this species were found elsewhere on the property. Eleven Arizona manihot individuals were discovered in one location in the Rosemont Project Area. These plants occurred within larger populations of its congener, desertmountain manihot (M. angustiloba).
In the southwestern Santa Rita Mountains three small populations of Santa Rita yellowshow were found at two herbarium record locations for this species. Surveys in a limited portion of the southern Rincon Mountains found two populations of Santa Rita yellowshow. Based on the SEINet data for this species, this is a new location that extends the known range of the species to include the Rincon Mountains. The observed plants at these locations occurred as small isolated groups, and had distinctive vegetation and fruit characteristics that distinguished them from their congener, Mexican yellowshow.
Beardless chinch weed was found in one location along McCleary Canyon in 2010 and 2011. Extensive surveys in 2011 did not detect any other plants of this species in the Rosemont Project Area. No southwestern muhly plants were found in 2010 or 2011 surveys.
WestLand Resources, Inc. ES-1 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
1. INTRODUCTION
WestLand Resources, Inc. (WestLand) was retained by Rosemont Copper Company (Rosemont) to conduct baseline biological studies in support of their effort to obtain licensing for developing copper mining operations in the northern Santa Rita Mountains. The purpose of this report is to present results on surveys conducted in 2011 for four Forest Sensitive plant species: Arizona manihot (Manihot davisiae); beardless chinch weed (Pectis imberbis); Santa Rita yellowshow (Amoureuxia gonzalezii); and southwestern (Box Canyon) muhly (Muhlenbergia dubiodes). Three of these species have been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The surveys were conducted on private land held by Rosemont Copper Company and on portions of the US Forest Service Coronado National Forest (CNF) adjacent to Rosemont’s holdings (Figure 1). The surveys focused on the Barrel Canyon alternative (Project Area), which is shown as the green polygon in Figure 1, and at other areas in the southern Santa Rita Mountains and in the southern Rincon Mountains.
Surveys were initiated in 2010 and were continued in 2011 in response to preliminary determinations made by CNF for species of Forest Sensitive plants that the proposed Rosemont mine plan, “(m)ay result in a downward trend toward federally (sic) listing as threatened or endangered, or loss of viability”. At the time, the CNF also made determinations on Coleman’s coral-root (Hexalectris colemanii), Arizona coral-root (Hexalectris arizonicus), and Bartram stonecrop (Graptopetalum bartramii). Analyses of the first two species are considered elsewhere (WestLand 2010a). The results of surveys conducted in 2010 showed that there was no suitable habitat for Bartram stonecrop in the Project Area (WestLand 2010b), so this species was not included in 2011 surveys.
Currently, none of the plant species considered in this study is listed as threatened or endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). USFWS was formally petitioned on June 18, 2007, by the Forest Guardians (now WildEarth Guardians) to consider listing Santa Rita yellowshow as either endangered or threatened and to designate critical habitat for the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. On October 11th, 2011, USFWS found that Santa Rita yellowshow was not currently in danger of extinction and was unlikely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Therefore, listing Santa Rita Yellowshow as an endangered or threatened species was determined to be unwarranted (USFWS 2011a). On July 7th, 2010, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) formally petitioned to list Bartram stonecrop and beardless chinch weed and to designate critical habitat under the ESA (CBD 2010). The 90-day petition finding was completed on August 5th, 2012, and USFWS initiated a review to determine if listing these species may be warranted (USFWS 2011b).
The goals of this project were to conduct surveys of portions of the Project Area where these four plant species were likely to occur and to record the locations of each plant found during these surveys.
1.1. SPECIES CHARACTERISTICS
The plant species that were the object of surveys have congeners (members of the same genus) that are more widely distributed and abundant, and share similarities in appearance and habitat requirements. In this section habitat characteristics of the four species and the criteria used to distinguish them from their congeners is presented.
WestLand Resources, Inc. 1 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
The habitat features and phenology of the four species considered in this study are shown in Table 1. The habitat requirements for these species indicate that they all have the potential to occur in the Santa Rita Mountains and in other sky islands in southern Arizona. The flowering phenology and habitat requirements of Santa Rita yellowshow and Arizona manihot, and those of beardless chinch weed and southwestern muhly, overlap temporally and spatially.
Table 1. Habitat characteristics of the four Forest Sensitive plant species1. Elevation Geographic Associated Species Aspect/Soil Phenology range (ft) features plants Santa Rita Agave species, Flowers yellowshow Rocky, Limestone outcrops Aug-Sept various shrubs, and fine granitic low 4,200-4,600 limestone and ocotillo, and (Amoreuxia hillsides soil. S and SW slopes Fruits gonzalezii) Opuntia species Sept-Oct
Arizona manihot Limestone Grassy, Flowers 3,500-4,000 herbaceous open Limestone slopes (Manihot davisiae) slopes areas July-Aug Beardless chinch Oak grassland, cane beard grass, Rocky hillsides, Flowers weed 3,000-5,500 Eroded granite disturbed area, road manzanita, cuts. S slopes Aug-Oct (Pectis imberbis) ocotillo Southwestern Rocky slopes, muhly canyons, Flowers 2,750-6,000 Grassland and Shallow soil pockets, (Muhlenbergia stream courses, oak woodland gravelly soil, crevices Aug-Nov dubioides) often on cliffs 1 Data from Falk et al. (2001) and Kearny and Peebles (1973).
1.1.1. Santa Rita yellowshow (Amoreuxia gonzalezii)
A congener of Santa Rita yellowshow occurring in the study area is Mexican yellowshow (A. palmatifida). Differences in morphology of leaf, fruit, and seed enabled these species to be distinguished in the field by WestLand biologists conducting the surveys (Table 2). Figure 2 shows that these species have different leaf morphologies, but the fruiting stage is the key to distinguishing species. The fruits of Santa Rita yellowshow are 1.6 – 2.8 in (4-7 cm) long and have an acuminate (sharply pointed) tip and seeds that are globose (round). The fruits of Mexican yellowshow are less than 1.6 in (4 cm) long, are globose in shape and have reniform (kidney-shaped) seeds (Sprague 1922, Kearney and Peebles 1973).
1.1.2. Arizona manihot (Manihot davisiae)
A congener of Arizona manihot occurring in the study area is desertmountain manihot (M. angustiloba), which has a leaf shape that makes it easily distinguishable from Arizona manihiot (Table 3 and Figure 3). Desertmountain manihot is widespread and abundant in Sonora and southern Arizona, where the northern-most limit of its distribution occurs. Arizona manihot is reported to be sympatric with desertmountain manihot over its entire range (Rogers and Appan 1973), although Croizat (1942) reported the manihot congeners as being distributed along altitudinal clines.
WestLand Resources, Inc. 2 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
Table 2. Morphological and habitat features1 of Santa Rita yellowshow (A. gonzalezii) and Mexican yellowshow (A. palmatifida).
Trait Santa Rita yellowshow (A. gonzalezii) Mexican yellowshow (A. palmatifida) 5-7 lobes, mildly serrate, dark green above, paler 7-9 lobed, coarsely serrate about two-thirds Leaf below. Serrate on the upper third of the lobes towards the base of lobes based on observations of herbarium specimens Ovary Whitish with silky hairs Minute, tiny hairs Ellipsoid with a pointed tip, pendant, weakly Globose (round) without a pointed tip less Capsule striate with scattered reddish glands mixed with than 4 cm long fine hairs. 4-7 cm long Seeds Globose, the aril is easily removed Kidney-shaped Flowering July - September July- September Elevation 4,200 – 4,600 ft (1,300 – 1,400 m) 2,600 – 5,500 ft (800 – 1,676 m) Soil Rocky, limestone slopes Rocky, limestone slopes Aspect South to southwest slopes South to southwest slopes 1 AGFD 2011, Falk et al. 2001, Hodgson 1994, Kearney and Peebles 1973, Poppendieck 1981 and Sprague 1922
Figure 2. Photographs of Santa Rita yellowshow and Mexican yellowshow showing differences in leaf shape.
Santa Rita yellowshow (A. gonzalezii) Mexican yellowshow (A. palmatifida)
WestLand Resources, Inc. 3 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
Table 3. Morphological and habitat features1 of Arizona manihot (M. angustiloba) and desertmountain manihot (M. davisiae). Trait Arizona manihot (M. davisiae) Desertmountain manihot (M. angustiloba) Leaf 5-7 lobed, primary lobes broadly lobed at apex 5-7 lobes, primary lobes of leaves lobed only at or below the middle, narrow and tapering Flowering August June to September Elevation 3,500 to 4,000 ft 3,000 to 5,000 ft Substrate Limestone slopes Limestone slopes Aspect South to southwest slopes South to southwest slopes 1 Croizat 1942, Falk et al. 2001, and Kearney and Peebles 1973.
Figure 3. Photographs of Arizona manihot (M. davisiae) and desertmountain manihot (M. angustiloba) showing the differences in leaf shape
Arizona manihot (M. davisiae) Desertmountain manihot (M. angustiloba)
WestLand Resources, Inc. 4 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
1.1.3. Southwestern muhly (Muhlenbergia dubiodes)
A congener of southwestern muhly in the study area is deergrass (M. rigens). Southwestern muhly can be distinguished from deergrass by an awn (a stiff bristle-like structure) arising from the flower bract, which is lacking in deergrass (AGFD 2000).
1.1.4. Santa Rita yellowshow (Amoreuxia gonzalezii)
Beardless chinch weed shares common characteristics of the genus Pectis where the glands occur on the petals, phyllaries, and leaves. However, Beardless chinch weed is distinguished from its congeners in Arizona as glands also occur on the corolla (eFloras 2008). In addition it is the only perennial member of the genus in Arizona, and field identification is aided by the presence of previous year’s stems (Kearney and Peebles 1973).
2. METHODS
2.1. SURVEY DATES
WestLand conducted simultaneous surveys for Santa Rita yellowshow and Arizona manihot since these species share similar elevation ranges, substrate conditions, and flowering period (Table 2). Likewise, simultaneous surveys were conducted for beardless chinch weed and southwestern muhly due to their similar habitat requirements and flowering period (Table 3). In 2011, we conducted surveys for Santa Rita yellowshow and Arizona manihot from early to mid-August, when inflorescences (flowering stalks with flowers) have emerged for these species. Surveys for beardless chinch weed and southwestern muhly occurred from late August to early September, during peak bloom time for these species (Table 4).
Table 4. Dates and duration of surveys for four Forest Sensitive plant species in 2011. Plants Surveyed Locations Survey Dates Person-days*
Santa Rita yellowshow Santa Rita Augusts 1 - 5, 8 -12, 16 - 19 96 and Arizona manihot Mountains
Beardless Chinch weed and Santa Rita August 22 –26, 29 –31, 49 Southwestern muhly Mountains September 1 –2, 6- 8
Rosemont Area Totals 145
Santa Rita yellowshow Santa Rita August 3-5 7 and Arizona manihot Mountains
Santa Rita yellowshow Rincon Mountains August 5 2 and Arizona manihot
Offsite Totals 9 2011 SEASON TOTALS 154
* 10 hours per survey day per person is equal to 1.25 person-days
WestLand Resources, Inc. 5 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
2.2. SURVEY AREAS AND HABITATS
WestLand surveyed the Project Area including the larger drainages of Barrel, McCleary and Wasp canyons and the surrounding uplands (Figure 4 and 5). Our goal was to conduct a 5-10 percent ground survey of the potential habitat surveyed in 2010 but to also search areas that were high-graded using aspect, elevation, and vegetation density to exclude unsuitable habitats (see below). In addition, surveys were conducted for Santa Rita yellowshow in two locations outside the Project Area; one site in the southwestern Santa Rita Mountains and the other in the southern Rincon Mountains.
Survey efforts in 2011 focused on the known habitat types of each species. Those areas that were too steep, and had loose rocks were not surveyed due to safety concerns. Areas with dense thickets of wait-a-minute bush, (Mimosa biuncifera), whitethorn acacia (Acacia constricta), and/or catclaw acacia (A. greggii) were not surveyed as they were deemed unlikely habitat. Areas with dense stands of pinyon (Pinus monophylla) and juniper (Juniperus monosperma and J. deppeana) were not surveyed as they were deemed unlikely habitat. These species are not cited as vegetation or habitat associates of any of the sensitive species (Falk et al. 2001).
In preparing maps for the surveys, WestLand’s GIS department identified characteristics that met the reported preference for the Santa Rita yellowshow to occur on southeast to southwest facing slopes (Falk et al. 2001). Based on the elevations of these slopes, WestLand excluded some of them from further analysis. The elevation range was limited to 4,800 ft (1,463 m) or lower, which is 200 ft (61 m) above the reported upper limit of 4,600 ft (1,402 m) for Santa Rita yellowshow (Table 2). Since most of the Rosemont Holdings and the CNF land included in the proposed mine footprint and alternatives occurs above 4,800 ft (1,463 m), this excluded a large portion of the Project Area. However, several locations above this elevation range were also searched that met other habitat criteria. WestLand drew polygons around these locations, which ranged in size from 1.25 to 26 acres (0.5 – 10.5 ha). The elevation of the lowest polygon occurring within the project footprint is approximately 4,680 ft (1,426 m). A total of 55 polygons were drawn around possible sites with areas greater than 1.0 acre (0.4 ha) that had the appropriate aspect. We then excluded 30 of these polygons because their elevations exceeded 4,800 ft (1,463 m). In addition to the surveys of the identified polygons, we surveyed areas outside and between polygons in order to cover a broader range of potential habitats. The survey map shows the areas surveyed, and the 4,600 and 4,800 ft (1,403 and 1,463 m) elevation contours (Figures 4 and 5).
Our surveys for beardless chinch weed focused on canyons, washes, road cuts, and disturbed areas that fit the habitat characteristics of the plants discovered in McCleary Canyon in 2010 and described in Falk et al. (2001). This profile also fit the search criteria for southwestern muhly (Table 1); therefore, surveys for these species occurred simultaneously.
2.3. SURVEY PERSONNEL TRAINING
Survey personnel were provided with an overview of the ecology and the results of previous research on these four sensitive plant species and were given handouts and photographs detailing the inflorescence characteristics of each species. Training in the field entailed examining morphological traits of congeneric species found at the Project Area and explanations of the different traits expected for the four Forest Sensitive species. Field personnel utilized aerial photographs of the survey area that included delineated
WestLand Resources, Inc. 6 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
elevation zones. To increase coverage, safety, and detection probabilities, two or more people surveyed each of the areas in the Project Area.
2.4. SURVEY PROTOCOLS
2.4.1. Santa Rita yellowshow (Amoreuxia gonzalezii) and Arizona manihot (Manihot davisiae)
Initially, WestLand field biologists conducted binocular surveys of slopes identified on the maps to look for the bright yellow flowers of yellowshow species, and the green, ferny appearance of manihot species, both of which can be easily identified at a distance. Once suitable slopes were screened, field crews conducted belt transect surveys across these areas, walking 16 - 33 ft (5 - 10 m) apart across the area.
In addition to the field surveys, two person-days were spent doing intensive transects in the dense Mexican yellowshow population in the northeast portion of the Project Area (Figure 4). Field personnel walked five meters apart, counting and scrutinizing all Mexican yellowshow plants encountered to see if any plants had leaf characteristics that more closely resembled Santa Rita yellowshow (Table 2). If this was the case, then these were flagged for later inspection during the fruiting period.
Two person-days were spent at the end of the survey period inspecting the fruits of the Mexican yellowshow population for potential occurrence of Santa Rita yellowshow. Fruit capsules were opened and the seeds inspected. A reniform seed identified the plant as Mexican yellowshow, while a globose seed identified the plant as Santa Rita yellowshow.
2.4.2. Beardless chinch weed (Pectis imberbis) and Southwestern muhly (Muhlenbergia dubiodes)
The field survey crew methodically searched the delineated riparian corridors, canyons, rock-outcrops, areas of open grassland, areas of oak woodlands, and road cuts using belt transects for beardless chinch weed and southwestern muhly.
If congeners of the target species were found, a careful inspection of the morphological traits was conducted to confirm species identity. A photograph of the general site that included the inflorescence(s) was also taken. Field biologists then conducted intensive surveys in all potentially suitable habitats in the vicinity using adaptive cluster sampling methods (Thompson 1990). Specifically, the area in a 200 ft (61 m) radius around the plant or cluster of plants was searched, and if additional plants were discovered this process was repeated until no new plants were found.
During all surveys, routes were tracked using hand-held GPS units (Garmin Etrex Legend) set on track mode and each crewmember tracked their own progress. Crews used updated topographic maps, complete with previous GPS survey tracks, to ensure coverage of all predetermined areas. Tracks were started at the beginning of surveying each day and continued recording movement until surveys were terminated at the end of the day. Waypoints were taken when reaching a search location, when any designated plants or features of interest were noted, and before proceeding to the next survey destination.
GPS data (survey routes, waypoints, and photographs) were downloaded at the end of each day when
WestLand Resources, Inc. 7 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
crews returned to the office, and GPS units were cleared for the next day. Field maps were updated daily with the previous days’ survey tracks. Field notes and annotated maps were digitized and filed at WestLand for future reference.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. SURVEY EFFORT
WestLand biologists and technicians surveyed the Project Area for 27 days. A total of 154 person-days were spent looking for the four sensitive plant species with 145 person-days spent on the Project Area and nine person-days at offsite locations (Table 4). An additional three person-days were spent examining seed forms of a sample set in the large Mexican yellowshow population.
We found 20 Santa Rita yellowshow and 38 Arizona manihot plants in nine person-days of searching offsite locations and found 11 Arizona manihot plants in 145 person-days spent searching the Project Area.
3.2. SPECIES STUDIED
3.2.1. Santa Rita yellowshow (Amoreuxia gonzalezii)
No Santa Rita yellowshow were found on the Project Area during surveys of the locations containing suitable habitat in 2011. Two teams of biologists looked for this species at selected offsite locations. Two herbarium record locations for Santa Rita yellowshow in the southwestern Santa Rita Mountains were visited. One team surveyed these locations and found three populations of this species consisting of six, five, and five plants. The other team conducted surveys at the south end of the Little Rincon Mountains. They found three individual Santa Rita yellowshow at one site and two Santa Rita yellowshow at the other site, (as well as a single Arizona manihot plant). The observed plants at these five locations occurred as small isolated groups, were smaller in stature, and had distinctive vegetation characteristics and immature fruits that are clearly distinguishable from the vegetation and fruit of Mexican yellowshow (Figure 2). Based on the SEINet data for Santa Rita yellowshow, this is a new location that extends the known extent of the distribution of this species. GPS coordinates and photographs of the plants in these locations are on file at WestLand offices.
3.2.2. Mexican yellowshow (Amoreuxia palmatifida)
A large population of Mexican yellowshow exists south of the Rosemont Junction road less than a mile from SR 83 (Figure 4). This population is outside the Project Area. The plants were in full bloom and were easily visible from the road in August, 2011. The population is in the area of the Arizona Heritage Data Management System (HDMS) report for A gonzalezii (AGFD 2011, SEINet 2011), and where Dr. Phil Jenkins, botanist at the University of Arizona Herbarium, reported seeing Mexican yellowshow in 2010 (P. Jenkins, pers. comm. to R. Fritz, 8/2/11). Despite their superficial resemblance to Santa Rita yellowshow, it was determined through field observations, photographs, reference to scientific keys, and a site visit with Dr. Phil Jenkins on September 2, 2011 that the plants in this population are Mexican
WestLand Resources, Inc. 8 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
yellowshow, and that the two species can be reliably distinguished during field surveys. Therefore, it is most likely that the HDMS report was due to misidentification.
Field crews circumscribed the extent of this population and found that it extends further to the north, west and east, than was previously known (Figure 4). Transects conducted across several portions of the large population counted 5,210 Mexican yellowshow, which is a small fraction of the total number of plants in this population. The 105 fruits inspected from plants from three areas of this population, had reniform seeds, confirming that they were Mexican yellowshow and not Santa Rita yellowshow.
The size of the Mexican yellowshow population located outside of the proposed mine site, may number in the tens of thousands of plants. With the exception of one Mexican yellowshow individual in McCleary Canyon, we have not found other populations of Mexican yellowshow in the Project Area.
3.2.3. Arizona manihot (Manihot davisiae)
Eleven individuals of Arizona manihot were found within the Rosemont Area. Two small populations of Arizona manihot were observed within a larger population of desertmountain manihot north of McCleary Canyon (Figure 4). No other individuals of Arizona manihot were observed in the Project Area during 2011 surveys.
During surveys outside the Project Area, a population of 20 Arizona manihot plants was found within a larger population of desertmountain manihot at one site in the Santa Rita Mountains, and one Arizona manihot was found at another site in the Santa Rita Mountains. In addition, two specimens of Arizona manihot were found at separate locations in the Rincon Mountains, which extends the distribution of this species into a mountain range from which it previously was not known to occur.
3.2.4. Desertmountain manihot (Manihot angustiloba)
Desertmountain manihot is widespread and abundant in southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico (Kearney and Peebles 1973). WestLand identified this species growing among the large Mexican yellowshow population outside the Project Area. Transect surveys conducted in the large Mexican yellowshow population also recorded 17 desertmountain manihot individuals, and this species was commonly found during surveys of other locations in the Project Area (Figure 4). This species was observed during each offsite survey.
3.2.5. Beardless chinch weed (Pectis imberbis)
In 2010, nine individual beardless chinch weed stems were detected within McCleary Canyon of the Rosemont Area. No other individuals of this species were observed in the surveyed portions of the Project Area or in offsite surveys in 2011 (Figure 5).
3.2.6. Southwestern muhly (Muhlenbergia dubiodes)
No Southwestern muhly plants were found in the surveyed portions of the Project Area or in offsite surveys in 2011 (Figure 5).
WestLand Resources, Inc. 9 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
4. REFERENCES
Arizona Game & Fish Department (AGFD). 2000. Muhlenbergia dubioides. Unpublished abstract compiled and edited by the Heritage Data Management System, Arizona Game & Fish Department. Phoenix, AZ.
____. 2011. Amoreuxia gonzalezii. Unpublished abstract compiled and edited by the Heritage Data Management System, Arizona Game & Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ.
Center of Biological Diversity (CBD). 2010. Petition to List Two Arizona Plants as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act.
Croizat, L. 1942. A Study of Manihot in North America. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 23: 216-225.
eFloras. 2008. Published on the Internet http://www.efloras.org [accessed 18 November 2011] Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Falk, M. et al. 2001. Arizona Rare Plant Committee. Arizona Rare Plant Guide. Published by a collaboration of agencies and organizations. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Hodgson. W. 1994. Bixaceae Lipsticktree Family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science. Vascular Plants of Arizona. 27: 2.
Kearney, T.H. and R.H. Peebles. 1973. Arizona Flora. Second edition with supplement by J.T. Howell, E. McClintock and collaborators. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Poppendieck, H. H. 1981. Cochlospermaceae. Flora Neotropica. 27: 1-33
Rogers, D. J. and S. G. Appan. 1973. Manihot, Manihotoides. Flora Neotrópica. Monograph No. 13. Hafner, New York, NY, USA.
Sprague, T.A. 1922. A Revision of Amoreuxia. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew). 3: 97-105
Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2011. On-line database of environmental information, maintained by Arizona State University. Available at: http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/index.php.
Thompson, S.K. 1990. Adaptive cluster sampling. Journal of the American Statistical Association 85: 1050–1059.
WestLand. 2010a. Field Surveys for Hexalectris colemanii in Southeastern Arizona. WestLand Resources, Inc.
____. 2010b. Evaluation of Seven Forest Sensitive Plant Species. WestLand Resources, Inc.
WestLand Resources, Inc. 10 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx Forest Sensitive Plant Surveys Rosemont Copper Company
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2011a. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12- Month Finding on a Petition to List Amoreuxia gonzalezii, Astragalus hypoxylus, and Erigeron piscaticus as Endangered or Threatened. Federal Register 76 (196): 62722-62740
____. 2011b. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List Graptopetalum bartramii (Bartram Stonecrop) and Pectis imberbis (Beardless Chinch Weed) as Endangered or Threatened and Designate Critical Habitat. Federal Register Volume 77 (153): 47352- 47356
WestLand Resources, Inc. 11 Engineering and Environmental Consultants
Q:\jobs\1000's\1049.24\Final Report\2011 Sensitive Plant Species FINAL 8 31 12.docx
FIGURES
Path: M:\projects\1049.24\Rare Plant Survey\Figures\Fig4_2011_Overview_Amor_Tracks.mxd
*#
*#
*# *# *#*#*#
/"*#
«¬83
±
1,000 0 1,000 Feet
Legend Plant Location
*# Desertmountain manihot
/" Arizona manihot
Mexican yellowshow ROSEMONT HOLDINGS
Mexican yellowshow Population
Barrel Only Alternative
Rosemont Holdings Boundary
2010 Survey Tracks for Five Forest Sensitive Species
2011 Survey Tracks for yellowshow & manihot
4600 Foot Contour
4800 Foot Contour
Surface Management Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
State Trust Land ROSEMONT COPPER COMPANY Forest Sensitive Plants US Forest Service (USFS) SURVEY FOR ARIZONA MANIHOT Private Land & SANTA RITA YELLOWSHOW Figure 4 Path: M:\projects\1049.24\Rare Plant Survey\Figures\Fig5_2011_Overview_Pectis_Tracks.mxd
±
1,000 0 1,000 Feet
Legend Beardless chinchweed Rosemont Holdings Boundary
Barrel Only Alternative
2010 Survey Tracks for Five Forest Sensitive Species
2011 Survey Tracks for Beardless chinchweed & Southwestern muhly
Surface Management Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
State Trust Land ROSEMONT COPPER COMPANY Forest Sensitive Plants US Forest Service (USFS) SURVEY FOR BEARDLESS CHINCHWEED Private Land & SOUTHWESTERN MUHLY Figure 5