Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Amendment Covered Species Analysis Report
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Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Amendment Covered Species Analysis Report Prepared For: Clark County Department of Air Quality Desert Conservation Program 4701 West Russell Blvd., Suite 200 Las Vegas, NV 89118 WRA Contact: Ken Sanchez (415) 578-3184 [email protected] Patricia Valcarcel (415) 524-7542 [email protected] Date: June 11, 2018 WRA Project: 26346 2169-G East Francisco Blvd., San Rafael, CA 94702 (415) 454-8868 tel [email protected] www.wra-ca.com Draft Covered Species Analysis Report – June 2018 This page intentionally left blank. Draft Covered Species Analysis Report – June 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 SPECIES REVISION PROCESS ......................................................................................... 2 2.1 Species Considered for Coverage ............................................................................ 2 2.2 Criteria for Covered Species ..................................................................................... 3 3.0 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Species Range ......................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Species Status.......................................................................................................... 4 3.3 Impacts from Covered Activities ............................................................................... 5 3.4 Available Data .......................................................................................................... 6 4.0 SPECIES RECOMMENDED FOR COVERAGE UNDER THE AMENDED MSHCP ............. 6 5.0 LITERATUE CITED ............................................................................................................ 12 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Covered, Evaluation, and Watch List Species in the Current MSHCP .......................... 1 Table 2. Species Evaluated and Recommendations .................................................................. 7 Table 3. Animal and Plant Species Recommended for Coverage in the Amended MSHCP ..... 11 APPENDICES Appendix A – Species Recommendation Summaries Appendix B – Table of All Wildlife and Plant Species Reviewed i Draft Covered Species Analysis Report – June 2018 This page intentionally left blank. ii Draft Covered Species Analysis Report – June 2018 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report summarizes the list of plant and animal species evaluated and recommended for coverage under the proposed amendment to the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The current MSHCP covers 78 species for take and considers an additional 158 species as evaluation and watch species. This extensive list has proven to be difficult to manage in terms of the implementation and analysis process. The goal of this analysis is to develop a list of species to be covered by the amended MSHCP that focuses on the species most at risk, most likely to be impacted by the covered activities during the life of the plan, and/or most likely to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This will allow more conservation dollars to be spent on conservation actions for those species most impacted and at risk. The current list has species for which there are unlikely to be impacts from future covered activities, are not considered at risk, and/or are unlikely to occur in the revised Plan Area. The proposed Plan Area will encompass land below 4,000 feet in elevation. Approximately 50 percent of the species covered under the current plan occur at higher elevations in Clark County (County) (for example, the current list includes species that only occur in the Spring Mountains or Sheep Mountains). The Permittees anticipate that habitat for these species is unlikely to be impacted by covered activities in the MSHCP amendment. Furthermore, the majority of these upper elevation species’ habitats occur on federal lands, which are subject to a permitting process under the ESA undertaken by the federal agencies. Approximately 4 percent of the species covered under the current permit occur in aquatic habitats, which are regulated through other federal and state programs. The types of activities that are covered by the MSHCP amendment are not likely to result in direct impacts to aquatic habitats, so will not be covered by the MSHCP amendment. Table 1. Covered, Evaluation, and Watch List Species in the Current MSHCP Evaluation Watch List Category Covered Species Total Species Species Birds 8 7 15 30 Mammals 4 15 8 27 Amphibians 1 2 3 6 Reptiles 14 7 1 22 Fish 0 8 1 9 Invertebrates 10 34 10 54 Vascular Plants 4 21 10 35 Non-Vascular Plants 37 8 3 48 Total 78 102 51 231 Therefore, the covered species list is being re-evaluated so that the Permittees can more effectively administer meaningful conservation actions and focus the analysis and conservation 1 Draft Covered Species Analysis Report – June 2018 on those species most at risk and directly or indirectly affected by covered activities in the MSHCP amendment. This document presents the results of the species list revision process and is intended to function as a working document that provides the foundation for discussion with the permittees, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders about the species that will be proposed for coverage in the amended Section 10(a)(1)(B) application. This document focuses on 65 species requested for detailed review for inclusion by the County, and Appendix A contains the summary and recommendation for each of the 65 species reviewed. Appendix B provides a table prepared by the County of over 400 species reviewed and from which the 65 species were determined for inclusion in this analysis. 2.0 SPECIES REVISION PROCESS The criteria for determining the covered species list were developed using a step-wise systematic approach for evaluating species based on the following criteria. 2.1 Species Considered for Coverage To identify the covered species, a broad list of plants and animals that occur in the Plan Area was prepared by the County. This analysis drew from the comprehensive list of over 400 species including 231 species addressed by the Clark County MSHCP, previous efforts (PBS&J 2009 and Southwest Ecology 2018), and overall review of species potentially occurring in or near southern Nevada to systematically evaluate the inclusion of these species. The overall species reviewed is provided as Appendix A, and is the source from which the 65 species reviewed in this document is based. In addition, other species that merited consideration based on recent status or scientific information from a variety of sources were included in the revised evaluation matrix. Information used included but was not limited to: • Species listed or proposed for listing as threatened or endangered under the federal ESA; • Candidates for future listing as threatened or endangered under the federal ESA; • Plant species fully protected by the State of Nevada (Nevada Administrative Code: NAC 527 including revisions); • Mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles listed as protected, endangered, or sensitive by the State of Nevada (Nevada Administrative Code: NAC 503); • Nevada Natural Heritage Program Plant and Animal Watch and Track Lists (NNHP 2017a and 2017b); • Nevada Natural Heritage Program Climate Change Vulnerability Index (NNHP 2012); • Nevada Wildlife Action Plan (Wildlife Action Plan Team 2012); • U.S. Forest Service Region 4 Sensitive Species List (USFS 2016); • Bureau of Land Management Nevada Sensitive Species Lists (2011, 2017); • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Birds of Conservation Concern Region 8 (2008) 2 Draft Covered Species Analysis Report – June 2018 • Great Basin Bird Observatory Nevada Comprehensive Bird Conservation Plan (2010); • The Nature Conservancy’s “Conservation Management Strategy for Nine Low Elevation Plants in Clark County” (2007); • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora list (2017); • International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species version 3.1; and • For species occurring outside Clark County, their Federal and/or State status in adjacent states. 2.2 Criteria for Covered Species Several criteria were applied to the list of special-status species that could occur in the amended Plan Area to determine which species should be covered by the MSHCP Amendment. Species recommended for coverage by the MSHCP Amendment should meet any of the criteria but more likely meet several of the criteria. Range The species is known to occur, or is likely to occur, within the Plan Area based on credible evidence, or the species is not currently known in the Plan Area but is expected in the Plan Area during the permit term (e.g., through range expansion, recovery actions, or reintroduction to historic range). Status The species meets at least one of following the status criteria: • Listed under the federal ESA as threatened or endangered, proposed or candidate; • State listed as protected, fully protected, threatened, or endangered (not sensitive) under NAC 503 (wildlife) or 527 (flora); or • Potentially or likely to be listed under state or federal statutes within the ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit term (assumed to be 50 years). Potential for listing during the permit term is based on current listing status, consultation with experts,