Appendix F – Species of Concern and Species of Interest APPENDIX F Species of Concern and Species of Interest Appendix F: Species of Concern and Species of Interest – Idaho Panhandle National Forest................................................................................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Ecological sustainability................................................................................................................ 1 Step 1: Identification of species................................................................................................ 2 Step 2: Screening Species of Concern and Species of Interest for Further Consideration in the Planning Process ..................................................................................................................... 14 Results of Initial Screening..................................................................................................... 16 Further Screening – Information collection............................................................................ 17 Species of Concern brought forward for Further Analysis................................................ 29 Species of Interest brought forward for Further Analysis ................................................. 29 Step 3: Grouping Species and Selecting Surrogate Species.................................................... 32 Step 4: Plan Components for Species Diversity .................................................................... 41 Step 5: Evaluation of Plan Components on Species Diversity .............................................. 44 Appendix F: Species of Concern and Species of Interest – Kootenai National Forest .............................................................................................................................45 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 45 Ecological sustainability.............................................................................................................. 45 Step 1: Identification of species.............................................................................................. 46 Step 2: Screening Potential Species of Concern and Species of Interest for Further Consideration in the Planning Process.................................................................................... 58 Results of Initial Screening..................................................................................................... 60 Further Screening – Information collection............................................................................ 60 Species of Concern brought forward for Further Analysis................................................ 70 Species of Interest brought forward for Further Analysis ................................................. 70 Step 3: Grouping Species and Selecting Surrogate Species.................................................... 73 Step 4: Plan Components for Species Diversity .................................................................... 82 Step 5: Evaluation of Plan Components on Species Diversity .............................................. 84 Terms and Abbreviations............................................................................................................ 85 Global and State Ranks from NatureServe and Montana Ranks from the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy............................................................................................... 86 Literature Cited........................................................................................................................... 87 Literature Reviewed.................................................................................................................... 88 Appendix F – Species of Concern and Species of Interest KIPZ Draft Comprehensive Evaluation Report Appendix F – Species of Concern and Species of Interest Appendix F: Species of Concern and Species of Interest – Idaho Panhandle National Forest Introduction This report documents the identification and selection of species of concern and species of interest by the Forest Supervisor for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests for the Proposed Land Management Plan. The Idaho Panhandle National Forest is responsible for the management of approximately 2.5 million acres. The majority of the land administered by the Forest is located in Bonner, Boundary, Benewah, Kootenai, and Shoshone counties, Idaho with small portions in Latah and Clearwater Counties, Idaho; Pend Oreille County, Washington; and Sanders and Lincoln Counties, Montana. The forest is bordered on the north by Canada, on the west by the Colville National Forest, on the east by the Kootenai National Forest and on the south by the Clearwater National Forest. Coordination with representatives of the various adjacent forests has occurred during this analysis process. Ecological sustainability The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) requires land management plans to provide for diversity of plant and animal communities based on the suitability and capability of the land areas while meeting overall multiple use objectives. The 2005 planning rule and associated Forest Service Directives (FSH 1909.12, Chapter 40) specify how to meet this diversity requirement. A hierarchical approach that assesses both Ecosystem Diversity (section 43.1) and Species Diversity (section 43.2) is used in the Idaho Panhandle Proposed Land Management Plan. The initial focus of the assessment process is on ecosystem diversity, both in addressing the needs of healthy, diverse, and resilient ecosystems within the plan area, and in determining the extent to which maintaining ecosystem diversity will also maintain populations of plant and animal species within their ranges in the plan area. Ecosystem diversity is defined as the variety and relative extent of ecosystem types including their composition, structure, and processes. An assumption relative to terrestrial animals is that ecosystem diversity will maintain habitat for the persistence of the vast majority of species. This has often been referred to as the “coarse filter” conservation approach. For the Idaho Panhandle, a coarse filter ecosystem diversity evaluation was used to compare existing vegetation communities to a set of reference conditions in order to evaluate changes in disturbance regimes and ecological communities. See Appendix B of the CER (Range of Variability) for a complete description of the process used. Based on the results of this evaluation, proposed forest plan components were developed to maintain or move vegetation communities towards a desired level or condition. A complementary approach (species diversity) to the ecosystem diversity analysis was used for those species for which ecological conditions necessary to sustain populations may not be provided by maintaining ecosystem diversity. In these cases, a species-specific approach was used in the analysis and for the establishment of plan components (where necessary). The assessment of individual species is often referred to as the “fine-filter” approach. Forest Service directives associated with the 2005 Planning Rule provide guidelines for conducting species sustainability assessments. The focus in this analysis is on species that are of regional or local conservation KIPZ Draft Comprehensive Evaluation Report F-1 Appendix F – Species of Concern and Species of Interest concern as indicated by documented threats to populations or habitats. Native terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates known to occur on land administered by the Kootenai National Forest were considered. Criteria in the USDA Forest Service planning directives were used as the basis for identification of species to include in the species diversity analysis (FSH 1909.12 Chapter 43.2; Effective Date 1/09/2006). Specifically species included are: • Species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act • Species of concern • Species of interest A five step approach was used in the assessment for species of concern and species of interest: 1. Identification of species. 2. Screening of species of concern and species of interest for further consideration in the planning process. 3. Grouping species where possible and, if necessary, selecting surrogate species. 4. Determining plan components for species diversity. 5. Evaluation of plan components on species diversity. Step 1: Identification of species Species known to occur on the Forests For each of the criteria identified below for identification of threatened and endangered species and species of concern and species of interest, only those species known to occur on the Forest were considered. A list of vertebrate wildlife species known to occur on the KIPZ was completed for the AMS. For vertebrate species, an inventory was compiled using historical records, national forest, state, county and internet databases. Very little information is available on the Forest for terrestrial invertebrates. To obtain known occurrences of terrestrial invertebrates (mollusks), representatives from the states of Montana and Idaho provided a list of species and locations (Montana Natural Heritage Program and Idaho Conservation Data Center). The species list for the Forest was compared