U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT MEDFORD DISTRICT 3040 Biddle Rd. Medford OR 97504

CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION DOCUMENTATION AND DECISION RECORD

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation NEPA Number: DOI-BLM-OR-M000-2017-0010-CX

A. Description of the Proposed Action The BLM proposes to augment existing populations and create new populations of two Special Status lily species, Gentner’s fritillary (Fritillaria gentneri) and Siskiyou mariposa lily (Calochortus persistens), both endemic to the Klamath-Siskiyou Region. Gentner’s fritillary is federally listed as Endangered. Siskiyou mariposa lily is a Bureau Sensitive species that was removed from the federal Candidate list in 2015.

Gentner’s fritillary

The BLM proposes to implement the Recovery Plan for Fritillaria gentneri (Gentner’s fritillary) (USFWS 2003) by augmenting existing populations and creating new populations within the species’ known range on the Medford District. Clonal bulblets would be harvested, cultivated, and out-planted each year by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and BLM. Bulblet harvesting would involve digging up mature parent bulbs, detaching the clonal bulblets, and then replanting the parent bulb in its original location. Bulblets would be collected from large populations (> 20 flowering plants) that appear vigorous, based on annual monitoring. Bulblets would then be planted in flats under shade-houses and tended for 3-4 years until reaching suitable size for out-planting.

ODA and BLM botanists would select sites for planting by locating the most suitable habitat and the most protected sites within each recovery unit. Typical habitat includes oak woodlands and savannas, chaparral, and edges of dry, mixed hardwood-conifer forest stands. A majority of bulbs would be planted within designated Fritillaria Management Areas (FMAs) and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs). The number of bulbs to be out-planted each year would range from 2,000 to 10,000, depending on the success of bulb cultivation and the selection of suitable planting areas. Bulbs would be planted in the fall of each year in marked and mapped plots. The number and distribution of plots would vary depending on the number of bulbs to be planted and the extent of suitable habitat within a site. Hand tools and augers would be used to plant bulbs at the appropriate soil depth, which ranges from 5 to 10 inches, depending on bulb size. Plots would be monitored every 1-3 years to assess out-planting success and threats.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 1 Siskiyou mariposa lily

The BLM proposes to implement the Calochortus persistens (Siskiyou mariposa lily) Conservation Agreement (USFWS et al. 2014) by conducting bulb out-planting trials in suitable habitat at up to six locations in the Ashland Field Office. The agreement calls for development of seed germination and cultivation techniques, and designing guidelines for the “potential introduction of off-site plant material into currently occupied areas or for establishing new wild- land populations.” Through the Proposed Action, the BLM would investigate the efficacy of out-planting techniques in order to inform potential creation of new populations.

ODA has previously collected seed from populations on the Klamath National Forest to investigate germination rates and cultivation techniques. Consequently, approximately 200 young plants growing in flats are available for out-planting trials. ODA and BLM botanists would plant these bulbs at various depths (4-10 inches) in marked plots and revisit each plot annually to count survivors and assess their health. If successful, additional plantings may occur in the future.

B. Location and Land Use Allocation Gentner’s fritillary

The project would be on BLM-managed lands located within the Medford District, within the known range of Gentner’s fritillary. Planting sites would primarily be in FMAs (Figure 1), but may also be located in Congressionally Reserved Lands, National Conservation Lands, Riparian Reserves, and District-defined Reserves, including ACECs and areas identified as unsuitable for timber production in the Timber Productivity Capability Classification.

Table 1. Designated Fritillaria Management Areas on the Medford District BLM Fritillary Management Area Acres Recovery Unit (FMA)

Bald Mountain 281 Unit 1 Cobleigh Road 1,097 Unit 3 Dakubetede 1,953 Unit 1 Dutch Oven 668 Unit 4 Jacksonville Woodlands 106 Unit 1 North River Road 336 Unit 3 Pickett Creek 390 Unit 2 Pilot Rock 1,752 Unit 4

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 2

Figure 1. Location of eight Fritillaria Management Areas on the Medford District BLM.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 3 Siskiyou mariposa lily

The project would be on BLM-managed lands located within the Medford District, Ashland Field Office, within the species’ suitable habitat, which is restricted to rocky, acidic, well- drained soils, rock outcrops, and talus above 4,000 feet. Amsberry et al. (2016) identified six priority sites that have good to moderate habitat suitability and access for long-term monitoring (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Location of six proposed Siskiyou mariposa lily outplanting trials on the Medford District BLM.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 4 C. Need / Rationale for the Proposed Action Gentner’s fritillary

Gentner’s fritillary is a perennial lily that was federally listed as endangered on December 10, 1999. A recovery plan for this species was signed on July 12, 2003. According to the recovery plan, each of the four recovery units (RUs) must include at least 1,000 flowering plants for a minimum of 15 years in order to consider this plant for delisting (USFWS 2003). The Proposed Action would contribute to meeting Recovery Actions 2.43 and 2.44, which are to augment and monitor populations with the objective of reaching a minimum number of flowering plants annually for each of four recovery units. Reaching these goals would allow for down-listing and eventually delisting of this species.

The BLM has annually monitored 57 of the approximately 200 sites known to occur on the district (Table 2). Currently, only RU4 is close to meeting recovery criteria (Pacific Crest Consulting 2016). The other three RUs will require substantial increases in flowering plants in order to meet the requirement for 1,000 flowering plants. This plant is not known to reproduce via seed and is, instead, entirely reliant on asexual reproduction. ODA has demonstrated that out-planting bulbs grown ex situ is an effective method for increasing population size for this species (Metzler et al. 2016). Through this project, the BLM and ODA would continue to refine techniques and monitor the long-term success of this approach.

Table 2. Mean number of flowering plants at Fritillaria gentneri sites, 2008-2015, per Recovery Unit. Number Mean flowering Recovery Unit of sites plants/year1 RU 1 – Jacksonville and Applegate Valley 27 334 RU 2 – Grants Pass Field Office 1 0 RU 3 – Butte Falls Field Office 17 27 RU 4 – Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument 12 873 1 Does not include flowering plants from outplanted bulbs.

Siskiyou Mariposa Lily

The only extant population of this species in Oregon is located on the Medford District; however, only one to five plants have ever been observed, with no evidence of seedling establishment. The probability of this population persisting is low without augmentation. In the Conservation Agreement, all partners, including the BLM, agreed to maintain population levels at stable or increasing levels. The proposed action would investigate and refine out-planting techniques so that future operational-scale out-planting efforts would have improved chances of creating stable persistent populations.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 5 D. Project Design Features

 Annual out-planting locations will be shared in advance with Field Office Archaeologists for site clearance.  If cultural artifacts are observed within harvesting or planting sites or unearthed during planting, work would be stopped until a BLM archeologist has reviewed the site.  To avoid injury to existing Gentner’s fritillary and other Bureau sensitive plant species, bulbs will not be planted within known patches of special status plants.  The BLM will check for the location of federal mining claims and contact the mining claimant if a planting site is located on the claim.

E. Plan Conformance The proposed action is in conformance with the following plans:

 Proposed Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement for Western Oregon (FEIS 2016)  Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan for Southwestern Oregon (USDI- BLM 2016a)  Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan for Northwestern and Coastal Oregon (USDI-BLM 2016b)  Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Management Plan (FEIS, 2005; ROD/RMP, 2008)  Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Management of Port-Orford- Cedar in Southwest Oregon (FSEIS, 2004 and ROD, 2004); and  Medford District Integrated Weed Management Plan Environmental Assessment (1998) and tiered to the Northwest Area Noxious Weed Control Program (EIS, 1985) The proposed action is also in conformance with the direction given for the management of public lands in the Medford District by the Oregon and California Lands Act of 1937, Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Clean Water Act of 1987, Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (as amended 1986 and 1996), Clean Air Act, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.

F. References Cited Amsberry, K. and R. Meinke. 2009. Population establishment and augmentation of Fritillaria gentneri in southwest Oregon. Report for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1. Native Plant Conservation Program, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Salem, OR. Amsberry, K., J. Brown, and R.J. Meinke. 2016. Conservation Agreement implementation for Siskiyou mariposa lily (Calochortus persistens). Report for Bureau of Land Management, Medford District. Native Plant Conservation Program, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Salem, OR. Metzler, C., J. Brown, and R.J. Meinke. 2016. Annual Interagency Population Augmentation and Creation Summary for Fritillaria gentneri, 2015. Report for Bureau of Land Management,

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 6 Medford District and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR. Native Plant Conservation Program, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Salem, OR. Pacific Crest Consulting. 2016. Annual Review of Fritillaria gentneri on BLM Lands, 2015 Report. Report for Bureau of Land Management, Medford District. Pacific Crest Consulting, LLC, Ashland, OR. USFWS. 2003. Recovery plan for Fritillaria gentneri (Gentner’s fritillary). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR. USFWS and BLM. 2015. Conservation Agreement for Gentner’s Fritillary (Fritillaria gentneri) in Southwestern Oregon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Roseburg, OR, and Bureau of Land Management, Medford, OR. USFWS, USFS, and BLM. 2014. Conservation Agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management for Calochortus persistens (Siskiyou mariposa lily). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Yreka, CA; Klamath National Forest, Yreka, CA; and Bureau of Land Management, Medford, OR.

G. Categorical Exclusion Determination The Proposed Action qualifies as a categorical exclusion under 516 DM 11.9, J.11, “Actions where the BLM has concurrence or co-approval with another DOI agency and the action is categorically excluded for that DOI agency.” The Proposed Action is being implemented with approval and cooperation from USFWS (USFWS 2003, USFWS and BLM 2015), for which the action is categorically excluded under 516 DM 8.5, B (6), “The reintroduction or supplementation (e.g., stocking) of native, formerly native, or established species into suitable habitat within their historic or established range, where no or negligible environmental disturbances are anticipated.”

This categorical exclusion is appropriate in this situation because there are no extraordinary circumstances having effects that may significantly affect the environment as documented in the following review. The proposed action has been reviewed, and none of the extraordinary circumstances described in 43 CFR § 46.215 rise to the level of significance. A summary of the extraordinary circumstances is listed below. The action must have a significant or a disproportional effect on the listed categories to warrant further analysis and environmental review.

Extraordinary Circumstances Review Title 43, Section 46.205(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires the review of this action to determine if any of the following “extraordinary circumstances” (found at 46 CFR 46.215) would apply. If any of the extraordinary circumstances apply, then an otherwise categorically excluded action would require additional analysis and environmental documentation. An action would meet one of the extraordinary circumstances if the action may:

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 7 1) Have significant impacts on public health or safety. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: No significant impacts on public health and safety are expected. There is nothing inherent in this project that would affect public safety. 2) Have significant impacts on such natural resources and unique geographic characteristics as historic or cultural resources; park, recreation or refuge lands; wilderness areas; wild or scenic rivers; national natural landmarks; sole or principal drinking water aquifers; prime farmlands; wetlands (Executive Order 11990); floodplains (Executive Order 11988); national monuments; migratory birds; and other ecologically significant or critical areas. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: Activities would occur within Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. Resource specialists have reviewed proposed activities and prescribed PDFs to protect the resources and values for which these areas were designated and to assure that management direction for these areas is followed. 3) Have highly controversial environmental effects or involve unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources [NEPA Section 102(2)(E)]. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: The Medford District has previously analyzed and implemented rare plant cultivation and out-planting projects. The small scope of this project and incorporation of appropriate PDFs to minimize or eliminate effects would keep effects within known parameters. The BLM has not documented any highly controversial environmental effects or unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources. 4) Have highly uncertain and potentially significant environmental effects or involve unique or unknown environmental risks. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: Anticipated effects from this project are not likely to be highly uncertain nor significant. The BLM has implemented similar projects and effects have not exceeded what was analyzed. This project is similar to those past projects, is well-understood, and involves no unique or unknown environmental risks. 5) Establish a precedent for future action or represent a decision in principle about future actions with potentially significant environmental effects. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: Projects like this have been analyzed and implemented in the past, but similar projects do not set a precedent for future actions. Similar actions may occur in the future; however, each project will be assessed on its own merits. Approval of this action would not represent a decision in principle about future actions.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 8 6) Have a direct relationship to other actions with individually insignificant but cumulatively significant environmental effects. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: Because of the small scope of this project and incorporation of PDFs to minimize or eliminate environmental effects, project activities would not contribute to cumulatively significant environmental effects. 7) Have significant impacts on properties listed, or eligible for listing, on the National Register of Historic Places as determined by either the bureau or office. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: Project activities are not anticipated to occur on properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Any activities proposed in or near these sites would be reviewed by the District Archeologist or other cultural resource specialists who would prescribe protection measures to prevent adverse effects. 8) Have significant impacts on species listed, or proposed to be listed, on the List of Endangered or Threatened Species, or have significant impacts on designated Critical Habitat for these species. Plants ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: This project will implement the Recovery Plan for Fritillaria gentneri within the species’ range. Bulblet collection does not reduce viability of the parent bulb (Amsberry, K. and R. Meinke 2009). During bulb out-planting, soil is not disturbed within existing F. gentneri populations. Critical Habitat has not been designated for this species. This project would not affect populations or Critical Habitat for Lomatium cookii because the project is outside the range of L. cookii. Animals ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: The project incorporates Project Design Features to prevent impacts to Threatened or Endangered animal species. No effects to these species are expected. 9) Violate a Federal law, or a State, local, or tribal law or requirement imposed for the protection of the environment. ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: This project follows all Federal, State, local, and tribal laws and requirements imposed for the protection of the environment. As this project is in conformance with the 2016 RMPs, and the 2016 RMP was developed to be consistent with numerous laws, executive and secretary orders including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and many others (PRMP/FEIS pp. 1091-1096), it will not violate and Federal, state, local or tribal law.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 9 10) Have a disproportionately high and adverse effect on low income or minority populations (Executive Order 12898). ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: This project will occur across the entire Medford District, often in areas with low income populations. The project will not have any high or adverse effects, regardless of where it is implemented; therefore, it will not have a disproportionately high or adverse effect on these populations. 11) Limit access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites on Federal lands by Indian religious practitioners or significantly adversely affect the physical integrity of such sacred sites (Executive Order 13007). ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: Any projects that occur in the area of these sites would be reviewed by the District Archeologist and protection measures would be implemented to prevent any adverse effect to the physical integrity of the site or other important resources. 12) Contribute to the introduction, continued existence, or spread of noxious weeds or non- native invasive species known to occur in the area or actions that may promote the introduction, growth, or expansion of the range of such species (Federal Noxious Weed Control Act and Executive Order 13112). ( )Yes ( X )No Remarks: The District Botanist has reviewed the Proposed Action and has determined that project activities are not expected to contribute to the introduction, continued existence, or spread of noxious weed or non-native invasive species. Similar activities completed on the Medford District have not increased the abundance of non-native plants within project areas.

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 10 Reviewers:

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Botany /ACEC Values Date Date

date Visual Resources / Recreation Date

,\k oB 11 11­ 7 Fisheries Date Engi eering Date

C: :4.~ ': +___:::: Planningoordinator/NEPA

Fritillaria gentneri and Calochorrus p ersistens Population Augmentation 11 Decision I have reviewed this Categorical Exclusion Documentation, including the plan confonnance. NEPA compliance review, and extraordinary circumstances review, and have determined the proposed action is in conformance with the approved land use plan and that no further environmental analysis is required. It is my decision to implement the action as described and approve the proposal to implement part ofthe Fritillaria gentneri Recovery Plan and the Calochortus persistens Conservation Agreement by augmenting existing populations and creating new populations using cultivated bulbs.

~ - /(J) - l7 Date Medford District Manager

Administrative Remedies:

Notice ofthe decision to be made on the action described in this categorical exclusion will be posted on the National NEPA Register web site (https://eplanninf.!.blm.gov). The action is subject to protest under 43 CFR section 4.450-2. A decision in response to a protest is subject to appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals under 43 CFR part 4.

Contact Person For additional information concerning this CX review, contact Tony Kerwin, Medford District Planning and Environmental Coordinator. 3040 Biddle Road. 97504. 541-618-2402.

Fritillaria genlneri and Calochortus persistens Population Augmentation 12