Habitat Conservation Technical Committee s1

HABITAT CONSERVATION TECHNICAL COMMITTEE for the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)

A regular meeting of the Habitat Conservation Technical Committee (TC) was held in the conference room of the Washington County Administration Building on May 4, 2017.

Members present were: Ann McLuckie Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) Kristen Comella Snow Canyon State Park (SCSP) Hilary Whitcomb, Vice Chair U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Marshall Topham Local Biologist Mike Schijf HCP Biologist

Also present were: Sarah Thomas Washington County HCP Recorder Cameron Rognan Washington County HCP Administrator Linda Allison U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

1. CALL TO ORDER

Hilary noted a quorum existed and called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

a. April 6, 2017

, Paragraph 4, Sentence 1:

Changed From: “Linda asked Ann why she truncates her data, because it looks like she might not need to do this.”

Changed to: “Ann took guidance from the distance sampling book and the standard protocols for distance sampling analysis to truncate the data.”

Changed From: “Ann said she truncates data to filter out occasional abnormal observations.”

Changed to: “Ann truncates data to filter out extreme perpendicular distances as is recommended by the distance sampling book and the Desert Tortoise Recovery Office.”

Changed from: “Ann replied that they will gather the results of the evaluation into a TC (Technical Committee) Recommendation paper that will be presented to the HCAC

Approved Technical Committee Meeting Minutes – May 4, 2017 (Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee).”

Changed to: “Ann replied that they will gather the results of the evaluation into a TC (Technical Committee) Recommendation that will be presented to the HCAC (Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee), as is standard with all assignments.”

Changed from: “John reported on raven activity in Paradise Canyon.”

Changed to: “Mike and Cameron reported on raven activity in Paradise Canyon.”

Changed from: “Hilary asked if the TC could deliver a presentation on fencing protocols, responsibilities, and monitoring in the future.”

Changed to: “Hilary asked if the HCP could deliver an overview on fencing protocols, responsibilities, and monitoring in the future.”

3. GENERAL BUSINESS

a. Continue discussion on Quail Creek Reservoir trail

Hilary updated the committee that John Kellam contacted Over the Edge Sports. DJ Morissette reported that she contacted the private property owner, but hasn’t heard back from him yet. If the property owner doesn’t grant access, they plan to locate the trail lower on the ridge.

b. Continuation of TC Assignment #3-b-1, April 6, 2017 - Evaluation of tortoise monitoring program

Hilary told the committee that there are no updates to report at this time.

c. HCP Administrator Updates 1. Update on surveys / clearances this spring

Cameron updated the committee on the completion of the Long Valley clearance. No 3 tortoises or tortoise sign was found. Additionally, the fence is working properly. Jim Raines reported that he found a tortoise on the correct side of the fence, where the HCP intends for them to stay.

Next, Cameron reported that HCP staff and others are moving forward with the SITLA-BLM surveys. They have been seeing a lot of tortoises.

HCAC members want to make sure that once this survey is finished, the results will be comparable with those from existing surveys on the Brennan, Doyle, and Carter properties. The committee would like to be able to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

Cameron said that over the years, Ann has done nearly 200 km of transects on the private properties. He asked the TC whether or not additional survey efforts need to take place. To make abundance comparisons, does the TC want to do more transects, or do they feel comfortable using the existing data?

Cameron asked for Linda’s opinion on whether data collected on the private properties in the past would provide a fair comparison against data being collected now on the SITLA-BLM property. She replied that if you correct for this year’s G-sub-zero, the data would probably be comparable.

Next, the committee discussed whether or not there’s enough data being collected on the private properties. Cameron wants to make sure there is adequate coverage there. He said that transects are repeated in the same locations year after year. Ann replied that since the 8 transects in the Brennan/Carter/Doyle complex are randomly located, they should represent the area sufficiently.

Kristen said that random distance sampling occurs reserve-wide, but the sampling was not designed so that data could be taken from one, small area and extrapolated. Therefore, she’s not certain they should be comparing the two areas with different sampling designs.

Linda said that because of the small size of the private properties, she thinks an intensive effort will be needed to provide a robust abundance estimate. She recommended using the same method used for the SITLA-BLM surveys, and the same surveyors, too. She said this would reduce seasonal bias and any possible bias resulting from different detection abilities from any new biologists conducting the surveys. Ann said that it doesn’t have to be an either/or decision. They could use both methods in the private property: the established 8 transects in addition to the more intensive survey method being used by Mike and Cameron on the SITLA-BLM property.

Cameron anticipates that with help from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) it would only take one day to survey the 1,200 acres of private property again. Kristen concluded by saying that she would feel more comfortable if there was a comparable effort in the spring window, sooner in the season rather than later.

Approved Technical Committee Meeting Minutes – May 4, 2017 2. HCP renewal

Cameron updated the committee that they’ve decided to take a slower approach to the HCP renewal in order to solve some of the bigger issues. Kristen asked if the HCP is operating under existing guidelines in the interim. Cameron replied that it is, yes.

4. OTHER REPORTS FROM TC MEMBERS AND REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

a. Kristen told the committee about a local blog writer who wrote a post about a popular hike in the east part of Snow Canyon State Park. The blog post included an illegal trail description. Visitation numbers have increased dramatically, the fence line has been cut repeatedly, and illegal social trails are on the rise. She said to be aware that as recreation increases in the area, people search for information online and can easily be misinformed.

b. Ann reported on a recent law enforcement meeting. She hopes that in the future there will be better attendance at these meetings, and plans on sending out an RSVP email in the future.

5. NEXT MEETING DATES

a. July 6, 2017

6. ADJOURN

The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m. Minutes prepared by Sarah Thomas.