Report to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Proceedings of A
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Foreword Proceedings of a Workshop held July 31–August 2, 2007 St. Louis, Missouri Report to the U.S. Army1 Corps of Engineers This report may be cited as: Bergman, H. L. , A. M. Boelter, K. Parady, C. Fleming, T. Keevin, D. C. Latka, C. Korschgen, D. L. Galat, T. Hill, G. Jordan, S. Krentz, W. Nelson-Stastny, M. Olson, G. E. Mestl, K. Rouse, and J. Berkley. 2008. Research Needs and Management Strategies for Pallid Sturgeon Recovery. Proceedings of a Workshop held July 31–August 2, 2007, St. Louis, Missouri. Final Report to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. William D. Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. To obtain a copy of this report contact Julia Towns, Librarian, U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO 65201. Phone 573.876.1853. Email [email protected] Electronic copies of this report are available online from the Missouri River Infolink website: http://infolink.cr.usgs.gov/Science/PallidSturgeon/PSWorkshop07.pdf Research Needs and Management Strategies for Pallid Sturgeon Recovery Report to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Prepared by: Harold L. Bergman, Ann M. Boelter, and Katelyn Parady William D. Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources University of Wyoming In cooperation with the Research Needs and Management Strategies Workshop Steering Committee Craig Fleming, Tom Keevin, and Doug C. Latka U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Carl Korschgen and David L. Galat U.S. Geological Survey Tracy Hill, George Jordan, Steve Krentz, Wayne Nelson-Stastny, and Mike Olson U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gerald E. Mestl Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Karen Rouse Missouri Department of Natural Resources Jim Berkley U.S. Environmental Protection Agency May, 2008 Table of Contents Foreword .........................................................................................................................................................i Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................v Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................1 Background .............................................................................................................................................1 Workshop Organization ..........................................................................................................................5 Goal, Objective, and Charge to Participants ...........................................................................................5 Report Review Process ............................................................................................................................5 Summary of Opening Plenary Session Presentations .....................................................................................7 History, Purpose, and the Compliance-Recovery Relationship ...............................................................7 Pallid Sturgeon 5-Year Review ................................................................................................................7 Sturgeon Conceptual Life-History Model and Application .................................................................11 Science Updates ............................................................................................................................................13 Upper Basin Work Group .....................................................................................................................13 Middle Basin Work Group ...................................................................................................................14 Lower Basin Work Group .....................................................................................................................15 Sturgeon Conceptual Life History Model ....................................................................................................17 Refinements to the Model .....................................................................................................................17 Views from External Experts .......................................................................................................................21 Identified and Prioritized Research and Management Needs ......................................................................23 Overview ...............................................................................................................................................23 Specific High Priority Needs for each Sub-Basin Area .........................................................................24 Funding Priorities and Science .....................................................................................................................29 USACE Funding...................................................................................................................................29 Science and the Decision-making Process ............................................................................................29 Next Steps ....................................................................................................................................................31 Sturgeon Conceptual Life-history Model .............................................................................................31 Workshop Outcomes ............................................................................................................................31 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................31 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................................33 Appendices A. Contact information for participants, observers, and staff ........................................................... A-1 B. Workshop agenda ........................................................................................................................ B-1 C. Science updates from basin work groups ..................................................................................... C-1 Upper .......................................................................................................................................... C-1 Middle ......................................................................................................................................... C-8 Lower ........................................................................................................................................ C-14 D. Discussion summaries from breakout session I ...........................................................................D-1 Habitat ........................................................................................................................................D-1 Recruitment ................................................................................................................................D-2 Population ...................................................................................................................................D-4 E. Discussion summaries from plenary sessions .............................................................................. E-1 External expert insights ............................................................................................................... E-1 Funding, external expert discussions, and open discussion .......................................................... E-3 F. Discussion summaries from breakout session II ...........................................................................F-1 Upper Basin..................................................................................................................................F-1 Middle Basin ................................................................................................................................F-3 Lower Basin .................................................................................................................................F-3 G. Research needs identified at 2004 pallid sturgeon workshop ......................................................G-1 H. Additional ideas contributed by reviewers ...................................................................................H-1 List of Figures Figure 1. Relationship of research efforts to Recovery Plan and Biological Opinions ...................................2 Figure 2. Recovery Priority Management Areas as defined in the Pallid Sturgeon Recovery Plan ................8 Figure 3. Outline of management units identified by the Pallid Sturgeon Recovery Team in 2006 ..............9 Figure 4. Overview of conceptual model of Scaphirhynchus sturgeon life history .........................................10 Figure 5. Relationship of the life-history model to elements of the RPAs ..................................................11 Foreword Recovery efforts for pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus The managers’ primary role was to identify and commu- albus) under the Missouri River Biological Opinion nicate sturgeon recovery and management decisions that Compliance Program ranked within the top 10 in the their respective agencies need to make.