Species Status Assessment Report for Frisco Buckwheat (Eriogonum Soredium) Ostler’S Peppergrass (Lepidium Ostleri) Frisco Clover (Trifolium Friscanum)

Species Status Assessment Report for Frisco buckwheat (Eriogonum soredium) Ostler’s peppergrass (Lepidium ostleri) Frisco clover (Trifolium friscanum) Frisco buckwheat Prepared by the Utah Ecological Services Field Office U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Salt Lake City, Utah Version 1, Final Report July 2018 Ostler’s peppergrass Frisco clover. Photos: Daniela D. Roth, Service Acknowledgements We would like to recognize and thank the following individuals who provided substantive information and insights for our species status assessment. A big thank you to: Lara Juliusson (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Dr. Janis Boettinger (Utah State University) and Dr. Tom Edwards (Utah State University; U.S. Geological Survey) for their contribution to the development of a suitable model for these three species. We appreciate Joseph Moore (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Mindy Wheeler (State of Utah), Robert Fitts (State of Utah), and Blake Wellard (State of Utah) for their survey time in the field and data consolidation effort. We would like to thank Dr. Susan Meyer (U.S. Forest Service) and Kody Rominger (Utah Valley University) for their insights regarding Frisco buckwheat and Ostler’s peppergrass competitive abilities. We would also like to thank everyone who reviewed drafts of the report and provided helpful comments, including the peer review. Valuable peer reviews of a draft of this document were provided by Dr. Susan Meyer (U.S. Forest Service), Dr. Stanley Kitchen (U.S. Forest Service), Dr. Paul Wolf (Utah State University) and Dr. Ron Kass (Intermountain Ecosystems, LLC). Valuable partner reviews of a draft of this document were provided by Ed Ginouves (Bureau of Land Management), Ken Krahulec (State of Utah) and Andrew Rupke (State of Utah). We also appreciate Bruno Hegner (Alderan Resources) and Paige Blakemore (Horn Silver Mines) for their support of research efforts for the three plant species. Suggested Reference: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2018. Species status assessment report for Frisco buckwheat (Eriogonum soredium), Ostler’s peppergrass (Lepidium ostleri), Frisco clover (Trifolium friscanum). Version 1, July 2018. Utah Ecological Services Field Office, Salt Lake City, Utah. 151 pages + Appendices. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report summarizes the results of a species status assessment (SSA) that was completed for Frisco buckwheat, Ostler’s peppergrass, and Frisco clover to evaluate each species’ overall viability. This SSA report summarizes the current and future conditions of Frisco buckwheat, Ostler’s peppergrass, and Frisco clover to assess each species’ overall viability now and into the future. To assess each species’ viability, we used the three conservation biology principles of resiliency, representation, and redundancy (together, the 3Rs). For the purposes of this SSA, we define viability as the ability of Frisco buckwheat, Ostler’s peppergrass, and Frisco clover to sustain wild populations into the future. Specifically, we identified the species’ ecological requirements for survival and reproduction at the individual, population, and species levels, and described the stressors influencing the species’ viability. We evaluated the changes in resiliency, redundancy, and representation from historical to the current time, and forecasted changes into the future. The three species are rare endemic plants found only in Utah. Frisco buckwheat and Ostler’s peppergrass occur together in three population areas in the southern San Francisco Mountains in Beaver County. Both species share the same population names of Grampian Hill, Cupric Mine, and San Francisco. Frisco clover is known from six populations in the southern San Francisco Mountains, Wah Wah Mountains, Tunnel Springs Mountains, and Beaver Lake Mountains in Beaver and Millard Counties. Frisco clover populations are Blue Mountain, Grampian Hill, San Francisco, Lime Mountain, Tunnel Springs Mountains, and Wah Wah Mountains. Frisco buckwheat, Ostler’s peppergrass, and Frisco clover occupy 297 acres (ac) (120 hectares (ha)), 153 ac (62 ha), and 360 ac (146 ha) of habitat area, respectively. Frisco buckwheat, Ostler’s peppergrass, and Frisco clover are long-lived perennial plant species that flower in the spring and summer months and likely require pollinators for maximum reproduction. Plant survival and successful recruitment require suitable intact soils with microsites for establishment and growth. The low canopy coverage of associated vegetation must result in low plant competition but also appears to provide sufficient floral resources to support pollinators. The health (long-term productivity) of populations is affected by the population size, habitat quantity, and habitat quality available to support stable or increasing populations. In addition to proximity between populations, habitat connectivity is important to support gene flow within populations. At the species level, Frisco buckwheat, Ostler’s peppergrass, and Frisco clover need a sufficient number and distribution of healthy populations to withstand environmental stochasticity (resiliency), catastrophes (redundancy), and biological and physical changes in their environment (representation). To assess resiliency, we evaluated relevant habitat and demographic factors to calculate an overall condition score for each plant population. We evaluated population size, habitat area, habitat quality, and habitat loss for the current condition, and included an additional factor, climate change resilience, when evaluating the future condition. Based on the results of these evaluations we rated population condition Good, Moderate, or Low. In our assessment, high overall viability means having more populations in Good to Moderate condition. To assess redundancy, we evaluated the predicted number and distribution of populations within the 3 species range relative to the current condition. To assess representation, we evaluate the predicted change in the number of individuals relative to the current condition. We evaluated the change in resiliency, redundancy, and representation from the past until the present, and also projected future states of these conditions. Based on input received from Federal and state agencies, private industry, and the best available information, we developed four potential future scenarios: conservation, low to moderate level precious metal exploration and mining, moderate level stone mining, and high level stone and precious metal mining. We evaluated each of these scenarios over the next 20 years. For each future scenario, we forecasted the biological condition using four stressors: precious metal exploration and mining, stone mining, nonnative invasive species, and climate change. Our future scenarios varied based on the potential exposure and impact of the two main stressors: precious metal exploration and mining and stone mining, as follows: (1) Conservation Scenario – we considered the future condition of populations without impacts from precious metal exploration and mining, stone mining, and nonnative invasive species. We assumed the cessation of stone mining and precious metal exploration and mining within plant populations into the future as a result of voluntary protections. This scenario also evaluates the impact of climate change; (2) Low to Moderate Level Precious Metal Exploration and Mining Scenario– we considered the impact of precious metal exploration and mining, nonnative invasive species, and climate change. We assumed future precious metal exploration would occur at low levels similar to historical use within plant populations. We assumed future precious metal mining would occur at moderate levels within two areas of highest development potential at mineral deposits in the San Francisco mountain range. We did not consider the impact of stone mining in this scenario so that we could evaluate the relative contribution of the precious metal and mining stressor to each species’ resiliency, redundancy, and representation; (3) Moderate Level Stone Mining Scenario – we considered the impact of stone mining expansion at existing mines, nonnative invasive species, and climate change. We assumed future stone mining would result in greater than ten percent habitat loss and reductions to habitat area and population size. We did not consider the impact of precious metal exploration and mining in this scenario so that we could evaluate the relative contribution of the stone mining stressor to each species resiliency, redundancy, and representation; and (4) High Level Stone and Precious Metal Mining Scenario – we considered the combined impacts of extensive stone mining at existing mines and high intensity precious metal exploration and mining within mineral deposit areas in the San Francisco mountain range, as well as nonnative invasive species, and climate change. We assumed more extensive impacts from the two mining stressors than what we considered under the low to moderate level scenarios. We acknowledge that our assessment is a prediction and may not accurately forecast future events. However, we used the best available science for our analyses and acknowledged any key 4 assumptions and uncertainties throughout this SSA report. Of the four scenarios, the most realistic future scenario would likely be the combination of the two mining stressors, and thus combining scenarios 2 and 3. When the two scenarios are combined, the impacts to the three plant species are identical to those described under the Moderate Level Stone Mining Scenario. We consider the resultant effects

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