Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area Land Protection Plan
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area Land Protection Plan July 2012 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mission Statement The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. National Wildlife Refuge System Mission Statement The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. —National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 Land Protection Plan for the Proposed Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area, Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel Counties, New Mexico June 1, 2012 U.S Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System Southwest Region Division of Planning Albuquerque, NM 1. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................................... 1 Proposed Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area Overview ...................... 1 The National Wildlife Refuge System ......................................................................................... 4 Refuge Purposes, Vision, and Goals............................................................................................ 5 2. AREA DESCRIPTION AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES ........................................................ 8 Location ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Habitats ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Climate ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Wildlife ...................................................................................................................................... 11 3. THREATS TO RESOURCES .................................................................................................. 18 Riparian, Wetland, and Aquatic Ecosystem .............................................................................. 18 Upland Grasslands and Woodlands ........................................................................................... 19 Climate Change – Mitigation, Adaptation, and Engagement .................................................... 20 Related Efforts and Resources................................................................................................... 23 4. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................ 29 Summary of the Proposed Action .............................................................................................. 29 Actions and Objectives .............................................................................................................. 29 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Land Acquisition Policy .......................................................... 29 Protection Priorities ................................................................................................................... 31 Acquisition Funding Alternatives .............................................................................................. 34 Public Involvement, Issue identification, and External Coordination ....................................... 34 Social, Cultural and Economic Impacts ..................................................................................... 36 5. GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED .................................................. 38 6. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................ 43 7. APPENDICES.......................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix 1 - Conceptual Management Plan and Interim Compatibility Determinations ......... 47 Appendix 2 - Section 7 Consultation ......................................................................................... 89 Appendix 3 – Public Review Comments and Responses .......................................................... 96 Appendix 4 – Signed Decsion Documents .............................................................................. 109 ii Figures Figure 1. Location Map................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Vegetation...................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 3. Critical Habitat and NAWMP priority area ................................................................... 14 Figure 4. Land Management ......................................................................................................... 17 Tables Table 1- Major Habitats within the Mora River Watershed ........................................................... 9 Table 2 - Partial List of Species of Concern known to occur within the Mora River Watershed and/or on the Wind River Ranch .................................................................................................. 15 Table 3– Land Ownership within the Mora River Watershed ...................................................... 16 Table 4 - Ownership/Management Status for Lands within the Southern Shortgrass Prairie Ecoregion ...................................................................................................................................... 20 iii 1. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION This Land Protection Plan (LPP) identifies the proposed establishment of the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Rio Mora Conservation Area, as outlined in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Proposed Action (Alternative C) in the Environmental Assessment (EA). The purposes of this LPP are to: announce the Service’s proposal to establish the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge by accepting the donation of the 4,600-acre Wind River Ranch, and establish the Rio Mora Conservation Area with authority to acquire up to a total of 300,000 acres of land through fee title purchase or conservation easement; provide landowners and the public with an outline of Service policies, priorities, and the variety of methods available for wildlife and habitat conservation in the conservation area and provide an opportunity for input from the public; inform landowners about the Service’s long-standing policy of acquiring land only from willing sellers. The LPP presents the methods that the Service, conservation partners, and interested landowners can use to accomplish wildlife and habitat goals and objectives for the proposed Rio Mora NWR and Conservation Area, while maintaining the rural way of life and character of the landscape. The plan is based on an environmental assessment, developed with public involvement that documents the purpose, issues, alternatives, and effects analysis for the project. The plan contains goals, objectives, and operational considerations, and addresses wildlife habitats, easement or fee acquisition priorities, public uses, and interagency and non-governmental organization coordination. Proposed Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area Overview The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 provides clear direction to the Service to “plan and direct the continued growth of the System in a manner that is best designed to accomplish the mission of the System, to contribute to the conservation of the ecosystems of the United States, to complement efforts of States and other Federal agencies to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats, and to increase support for the System and participation from conservation partners and the public.” As a means of reaching this goal the Southwest Region (Region) of the Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to establish a multiple scale conservation project in Mora, San Miguel, and Colfax counties in northeast New Mexico (Figure 1). The goal for the project is to protect and restore habitat in support of species recovery plans, state and regional conservation plans, major bird conservation plans, and to maintain native species and sustainable ecosystems. Actions outlined within this proposal are intended to 1) protect and restore part of one of the great grassland landscapes of North America, 2) protect and restore riparian areas in the Mora River watershed, 3) reduce threats to species from habitat fragmentation and degradation, altered ecological processes, invasive species, and impacts from global climate change, and 4) build on existing partnerships to restore wildlife populations and productivity to degraded ecosystems. 1 Key species and habitats of concern for this area include: long-billed curlew, loggerhead shrike, burrowing owl, mountain plover, southwestern willow flycatcher and a number of other riparian and aquatic species, and breeding and stopover habitat for a number of other declining migratory grassland and woodland birds. Proposed Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge The first part of the project would be to accept a donation from the Thaw Charitable Trust (Trust) of the 4,600-acre