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Adaptive Habitat Management Plan Template

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Adaptive Habitat Management Plan Template ADAPTIVE HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE Suisun Resource Conservation District 1 Table of Contents Preface.................................................................................................................................3 Introduction........................................................................................................................4 History of the Suisun Marsh.............................................................................................6 SRCD Management Program...........................................................................................9 Managed Wetland Maintenance Regulatory Requirements........................................10 Regulatory Restrictions...................................................................................................11 How Managed Wetlands Work......................................................................................12 Habitat Improvements – Wetland Maintenance..........................................................13 Habitat improvements – Water Control.......................................................................15 Habitat Improvements – Physical Manipulation.........................................................17 Invasive Plant Species Control...................................................................................... 21 Water Quality Considerations........................................................................................23 SRCD Assistance..............................................................................................................24 Appendix A – Regulatory Requirements……..……………………………………….25 A-1 U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (USACE) A-2 U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (NFWS) AND NATIONAL OCEANIC A-3 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE A-4 SAN FRANCISCO BAY REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD A-5 CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME (DFG) A-6 BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (BAAQMD) A-7 SAN FRANCISCO BAY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (BCDC) A-8 CALIFORNIA STATE LANDS COMMISSION (CSLC) A-9 SOLANO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT A-10 SOLANO COUNTY MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT (SCMAD) Appendix B – Primary Water Control Structures Used on Managed Wetlands in Suisun Marsh…………………………………………………………………………....30 B-1 LEVEES (EXTERIOR/INTERIOR) B-2 DITCHES (PRIMARY DITCHES/SECONDARY DITCHES/”V”DITCHES) B-3 WATER CONTROL STRUCTURES (CULVERTS/GATES/RISERS) B-4 CONTROLLABLE TOPOGRAPHY 2 B-5 PUMPS (PERMANENT/PORTABLE) B-6 FISH SCREENS (CONICAL/FLAT SCREEN) B-7 STRUCTURE MAINTENANCE CONSTRAINTS Appendix C – Regulatory Actions on Management of Seasonal Wetlands that are Subject and Exempt from a BCDC Permit…………………………………………40 Appendix D – Managed Wetland Conceptual Model………………………………41 Appendix E – NMFS Biological Opinions………………………………………… 170 Appendix F – References……………………………………………………………224 Appendix G – Assembly Bill 1717 http://www.bcdc.ca.gov/index.php?p=80&more=1&page=1 Appendix H– Regional General Permit 3 http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/regulatory/permitnumber3.pdf Appendix I– Regional General Permit 5 http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/regulatory/RGP/28218s.pdf http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/regulatory/RGP/28218sdrw.pdf http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/regulatory/RGP/28218s401ltr.pdf Appendix J – Feeding Ecology Study http://www.des.water.ca.gov/docs/dwr_color_report.pdf Appendix K – Water Rights Decision 1641 http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/Decisions/D1641S.pdf 3 Preface The goal of this template is to provide an overview and broad background information, describe existing conditions and operations on managed wetlands in the Suisun Marsh, and to provide wetland management guidance to Suisun Marsh landowners. The existing physical and biological conditions in the Suisun Marsh affecting wetland management strategies drive management, which in turn determines the resulting habitat, and ultimately the species that will utilize that habitat. Wetland habitat managers must continuously adaptively manage their properties in order to achieve management objectives. Since existing conditions will change continually, new data will be identified and then be incorporated into this template as the new existing state of knowledge. This template will serve as the starting point for development of management decisions on managed wetlands in the Suisun Marsh. However, it is not meant to be the sum total of all Suisun Marsh wetland management knowledge. Attached to this document are a number of Appendices and References that will guide the inquisitive wetland manager to a wealth of additional detailed information related to sustaining and enhancing the wetland habitat values of the Suisun Marsh. 4 Introduction The Suisun Resource Conservation District (SRCD) encompasses the wetland and open water areas of the Suisun Marsh. It includes 52,000 acres of diked wetlands, 6,300 acres tidal wetlands, and 30,000 acres of bays and sloughs, all protected by the Suisun Marsh Preservation Act of 1977. The diked wetlands and most of the upland grasses are managed for desirable food, cover, and nesting habitat for resident and migratory wildlife. The complexity (including water salinity, soil salinity, tides, and water delivery schedules) of this system requires managers to try and create conditions favorable to numerous species. Wetlands improvement takes effort, knowledge, and a plan of action. Landowners who are unaware of all aspects of wetland management are not being as effective as they could be in maintaining and improving wildlife habitat and enhancing Marsh values and functions. Broadening the range of knowledge and creating a document that can be applied to wetlands management programs will improve the quality of the managed wetlands in the Marsh. This management plan template presents up-to-date information about brackish marsh management designed to benefit waterfowl as well as fish, wildlife, and plants living in or migrating through the Suisun Marsh. The plan is necessary to achieve greater species diversity while complying with certain restrictions and criteria set forth by regulatory agencies. Timely information is key to managing a brackish, diked wetland more effectively. This management plan template is a “living document”, meaning that it will be revised periodically to incorporate new scientific understanding and changes in the regulatory and physical environment of the Marsh. This template also facilitates a site-specific element for each managed wetland unit that will be updated on an annual basis to document ongoing management changes in water control infrastructure and facilities improvements. This gives SRCD the flexibility to distribute new or updated material as the information becomes available and to keep management plans current and useful. 5 History of the Suisun Marsh The Suisun Marsh is one of the largest remaining contiguous brackish marshes in the US. Located about 35 miles northeast of San Francisco in southern Solano County, it provides habitat for numerous species of plants, fish, and wildlife. Historically, the Suisun Marsh was comprised of a wide plain of saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) associations supporting a large number of brackish (halophytic) marsh plant species and included about 68,000 acres of tidal wetlands. From the mid-1880s to the early 1900s, over 90 percent of these wetlands were reclaimed for agriculture. Agricultural production and success was limited due to increasing salinity in the Suisun Bay/Marsh region. Most of the levees originally constructed for agricultural reclamation now form part of the infrastructure for managing water levels in seasonal, non-tidal (managed) wetlands. Suisun’s levee and water control infrastructure has been used to create seasonal wetland habitat since the late 1800’s. Today, ninety percent of the wetlands in the Suisun Marsh are diked and managed as food, cover, and nesting habitat for wildlife. Seasonal wetland management strategies in the Suisun Marsh are based on waterfowl food habits studies conducted in the Suisun Marsh during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. One study (George 1965) indicated that seeds from alkali bulrush (Scirpus maritimus), fat hen (Atriplex triangularis), and brass buttons (Cotula coronopifolia) provided the bulk of the wintering waterfowl food supply and a recent study (Burns 2004) has shown that waterfowl seed selection may be even more diverse than previously thought. The George study was the basis for other studies (Mall 1969; Rollins 1973) of habitat conditions necessary to produce the above seed bearing plants. These studies concluded that plant communities in the Suisun Marsh are controlled primarily by the depth and duration of soil submergence and secondarily by the concentration of salts in the root zone. As part of the Pacific Flyway, the Suisun Marsh hosts thousands of native and migratory waterfowl every year. Market hunting of waterfowl in the Suisun Marsh began around 1859 (Arnold 1996) and effectively controlled most of the hunting grounds for the next 20 years. In 1871, the Chamberlain family obtained a patent from the State of California for some land on the western side of the Marsh between Cordelia and Suisun sloughs. This was one of the prime market hunting sites in the Marsh and was leased to the market hunters. Shortly after leasing the property, the market hunters started taking wealthy San Francisco businessmen on guided hunts to help offset the cost of the lease. This began the waterfowl sport hunting tradition in the Marsh, which is still evident
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