LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Acknowledgements Appendix B: Planning Team Structure Appendix C: Project Timeline Appendix D: Map Units in the GCP&M Ecoregion Appendix E: Portfolio of Conservation Areas in the GCP&M Ecoregion Appendix F: Conservation Element Selection Criteria Appendix G: Terrestrial Systems Appendix H: Freshwater Aquatic Ecological Systems Appendix I: Viable Conservation Element Occurrences--Progress Towards Portfolio Goals Appendix J: Definitions of Rarity Appendix K: Geographic Distribution of Elements Appendix L: Spatial Scale of Elements Appendix M: Viability Guidelines Appendix N: Conservation Goal Default Numbers Appendix O: Method of Portfolio Assembly Appendix P: Viable Conservation Element Occurrences by Taxa Type in the Portfolio Appendix Q: Portfolio Conservation Areas with Captured Elements Appendix R: Functional Landscapes, Sites and Biological Richness Appendix S: List of Data Gaps APPENDIX A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of the ecoregional conservation plan for the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes would not have been possible without the diligent, flexible, and concerted effort of the numerous individuals who assisted along the way as members of the ecoregional planning team and in other capacities. Of particular note have been the contributions of members of the Core Team who devoted large amounts of time, sometimes under duress, toward the completion of this report: Jorge Brenner, Bill Carr, Amalie Couvillion, Troy Ettel, Steve Gilbert, Ray Johnson, Richard Martin, Latimore Smith, and David Wolfe. Special thanks go to Amalie Couvillon who kept momentum going when no one else would or could. In addition, Steve Gilbert went the “extra yard” regarding data management and GIS analysis with committed and positive spirit. The completion of this plan would not have been possible without their dedication to the project and incredible knowledge of the ecoregion. Thanks also go to the other Conservancy staff who contributed their time and expertise to the plan, including Susan Carr, Heidi Christoffel, Mark Dumesnil, Lee Elliott, Rob Evans, John Karges, Sally Landaal, Bob McCready, Russell McDowell, Cathy Porter, John Prince, Carter Smith, Michelle Smythe, Jim Sulentich, Alan Weakley, Jeff Weigel, Kimberly Wheaton, Wayne Ostlie, Mark Gallyoun, and Lisa Williams. We would also like to acknowledge the significant contributions made by regional experts not affiliated with The Nature Conservancy. Without the assistance of these individuals, this plan would be an inferior product. Our appreciation goes to David Bezanson (formerly Texas General Land Office, now NAPA), Kathy Bruce (PBS&J Consulting), David Brunet (formerly LA Natural Heritage Program), Mauricio Cotera (Pronatura Noreste), Miguel Angel Cruz (Pronatura Noreste), Duane German (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department), Bob Gottfried (formerly LA Natural Heritage Program), Steve Shively (LA Heritage Program), Gary Lester (LA Heritage Program), Julie Noriega (formerly Pronatura Noreste), Cecilia Riley (Gulf Coast Bird Observatory), Jason Singhurst (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department), Judy Teague (Natureserve), and Wes Tunnell (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi). In addition to the expertise provided by the above individuals and organizations, much of the work and the distribution of the report would not have been possible without the generous funding for this project by Chevron (particularly, Patrick O’Brien), Equistar, Shiner, Moseley, and Associates (particluarly Joe Moseley), and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (freshwater analysis). We would also like to thank the personnel at the University of Texas – Marine Science Institute, Rockefeller Refuge and Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge for hosting and accommodating our team meetings. Finally, appreciation goes to Robert Potts (The Nature Conservancy South Central Division Director and former Texas Chapter State Director), Keith Ouchley (Louisiana Chapter State Director), and Ernesto Enkerlin (former Director of Pronatura Noreste) for their enthusiasm and support which made this endeavor possible. GCPM Plan APPENDIX B PLANNING TEAM STRUCTURE CORE TEAM Judy Teague, TNC Southern Resource Office Alan Weakley, TNC Southern Resource Office Jim Bergan, TNC TX (Team Co-Leader) Lisa Williams, TNC TX Jorge Brenner, Pronatura Noreste Amalie Couvillion, TNC TX (Team Co-Leader) ZOOLOGY TEAM Mark Gallyoun, TNC TX Bob McCready, TNC TX Mauricio Cotera, Pronatura Noreste Kimberly Wheaton, TNC SRO Troy Ettel, TNC TX David Wolfe, TNC TX, now ED John Karges, TNC TX Ray Johnson, TNC TX, now Montana Audubon Keith Ouchley, TNC LA Cecilia Riley, Galveston Bay Bird Observatory MARINE TEAM Steve Shively, LA Natural Heritage Program Mike Beck, TNC Cathy Porter, TNC FRESHWATER TEAM MEXICO TEAM Ryan Smith, TNC Southern Resource Office Jorge Brenner Ernesto Enkerlin DATA MANAGEMENT TEAM Julia Norriega Miguel Angel Cruz Heidi Christoffel, TNC TX Mauricio Cotera Steve Gilbert, TNC TX Bob Gottfried, LA Natural Heritage Program BOTANY TEAM David Brunet, LA Natural Heritage Program IMPLEMENTATION TEAM Bill Carr, TNC TX Ray Johnson, TNC TX Richard Martin, TNC LA ECOLOGY TEAM Keith Ouchley, TNC LA Robert Potts, TNC TX Kathy Bruce, PBS&J Consulting Carter Smith, TNC TX Lee Elliott, TNC TX Latimore Smith, TNC LA Rob Evans, TNC Southern Resource Office Jim Sulentich, TNC TX Sally Landaal, TNC Southern Resource Office Diane Schenke, TNC TX Latimore Smith, TNC LA GCPM Plan APPENDIX C PROJECT TIMELINE Date Activity August, 1998 Zoology team meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas. December, 1998 Project planning meeting at Matagorda Island, Texas Ecoregional kickoff meeting at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Grand April, 1999 Chenier, Louisiana. Reviewed element lists and set conservation goals. September, 1999 Community ecology team meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Preliminary site selection meeting at Port Aransas, Texas, based on October, 1999 proto-sites. April, 2000 Zoology team review of draft portfolio. May, 2000 Botany team review of draft portfolio. June, 2000 Community team review of draft portfolio. August, 2000 Highest-quality LA marshes identified by Visser et al. for TNC. October, 2000 Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecoregional Plan released. November, 2000 Freshwater aquatics experts’ workshop held at Mo Ranch, Texas December, 2000 Final draft of portfolio of conservation areas. Implementation team review of portfolio. Threats to ecoregional January, 2001 biodiversity identified. February 2001 Mexico Experts’ Meeting and review of draft portfolio April, 2001 Ecoregional roundtable review of plan. GCPM Plan APPENDIX D MAP UNITS IN THE GCP&M ECOREGION TERRESTRIAL STRATIFICATION UNITS IN GCP&M From a conservation planning perspective, ecoregions are defined as “…relatively large areas of land and water that contain geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities. These communities (1) share a large majority of their species, dynamics, and environmental conditions, and (2) function together effectively as a conservation unit at global and continental scales” (Ricketts et al. 1999). The Conservancy has chosen the U.S. Forest Service ECOMAP framework as the base map of ecoregional planning units in the United States (Bailey 1995; 1998). In ecoregional planning, it is useful to subdivide ecoregions into smaller units to help ensure appropriate stratification of conservation elements in portfolio conservation areas. For instance, if the range of a particular species spans the entire ecoregion, it is preferable to select viable occurrences throughout the ecoregion, rather than clustered in one place, to ensure that the range of variability of the species is being represented in the portfolio of conservation areas. In the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, the ecoregion was stratified into four subregions: Mississippi Delta, Chenier Plain, Texas Bays and Marshes, and Hypersaline Lagoon. Figure D-1. Terrestrial stratification units in GCP&M. Beaumont & Lake Port A rthur Charles Lafa yette New Orleans Houston Chenier Plain Mississippi Delta Texas Bays and Marshes Corpus Christi Hypersaline Lagoon Brownsville GCPM Plan FRESHWATER STRATIFICATION UNITS IN GCP&M Like terrestrial species and communities, aquatic systems are stratified across the ecoregion to ensure that all intra-ecoregional variation in species pools is accounted for when representing biotic assemblages with physical variables. Aquatic system stratification units are called Ecological Drainage Units (EDUs). EDUs are broad-scale watershed units with similar patterns of zoogeography, connectivity, climate, and hydrologic characteristics. Numerical goals for representation of aquatic systems in the ecoregional portfolio are stratified across EDUs. Four EDUs were mapped in the GCP&M by aggregating the USGS 8th field Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC8) according to their inclusion in one of four aquatic zoogeographic units from Maxwell et al. (1995). These EDUs correspond to zoogeographic unit names and are Lower Rio Grande/Gulf Coastal, East Texas Gulf, West Texas Gulf, and Mississippi Embayment (Maxwell et al. 1995). Figure D-2. Ecological drainage units in the GCP&M. Lake Mississippi Embayment East Texas Gulf Charles Lafayette New Orleans Beaumont & Houston Port Arthur West Texas Gulf Corpus Christi Rio Grande Brownsville GCPM Plan APPENDIX F CONSERVATION ELEMENT SELECTION CRITERIA The hypothesis that a subset of biodiversity, (which we refer to as conservation elements or targets in ecoregional planning) can represent all viable native species and community types,