Pretreatment Data to Evaluate the Effects of Fuel Management Treatments in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Pretreatment Data to Evaluate the Effects of Fuel Management Treatments in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area By Steven Ostoja1, Matthew Brooks1, Jesse Poulos2 and Julie Yee3 1 U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Yosemite Field Station, El Portal Office El Portal, California 95318-0700 2 Utah State University Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center 5230 Old Main Hill Logan, Utah 84322-5230 3 U.S Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center - Headquarters 3020 State University Drive East Modoc Hall, Room 3006 Sacramento, CA 95819 Prepared for: Clark County, Nevada Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management Desert Conservation Program Interlocal Number 2005-USGS-551-P Funding Source: SNPLMA ROUND 6 Administrative Report U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey 1 U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2010 Revised and reprinted: 2010 This report received policy, editorial and statistical review, plus two peer-reviews, prior to final release. product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Suggested citation: Ostoja, S.M., M.L. Books, J. Poulos and J. Yee. 2010, Pretreatment Data to Evaluate the Effects of Fuel Management Treatments in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area: El Portal, California, xx p. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. 2 Errata for the Report: Pretreatment Data to Evaluate the Effects of Fuel Management Treatments in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area 2011 Steven Ostoja, Matthew Brooks, Jesse Poulos and Julie Yee 2005-USGS-551 SNPLMA PROJECT # CC-44 On page 8 of the report, the authors appear to have incorrectly cited Boyd (2004) for the assertion that Ericameria nauseosa is a larval host plant for Chlosyne acastus robusta and inadvertently omitted Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus from the study design. In his 2004 report, Boyd does not make this assertion. Boyd (2004) reported Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus as a verified larval host plant for Chlosyne acastus robusta. This error also occurs on pages 72 (appendix F), 73 (table 1), 74 (table 2), and 76 (table 3) where E. nauseosa is included and noted to be a larval host plant (LHP) for Chlosyne acastus robusta. Additionally, as of January 25, 2012 such a relationship between any other subspecies of Chlosyne acastus and E. nauseosa had not been found in a review of information of larval host plants for all subspecies of C. acastus (personal communication, Corey Kallstrom, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southern Nevada Field Office.) On page 13 of the report, the authors listed Adenostoma fasciculatum among the dominant plants seen in the project area. This species was not previously known from the area, no voucher specimens or photographs were made of the plant, and this species identification should be considered inconclusive (personal communication, 25 January 2012, Corey Kallstrom, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southern Nevada Field Office based upon 10 November 2011 email from Jennifer Brickey, U.S. Forest Service, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.) References Boyd, B. 2004. Report on Butterfly Investigation in the Spring Mountains, Nevada, 2002-2003. Unpublished report prepared for the U.S. Forest Service, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Prepared on 30 September 2004. -Susan Wainscott, Adaptive Management Coordinator, Desert Conservation Program Contents Contents........................................................................................................................................ 3 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 5 Background, Need, and Project Description ......................................................................... 5 Elements of the MSHCP Addressed by this Project ............................................................. 7 Species ................................................................................................................................... 8 Species Threats ...................................................................................................................... 8 Ecosystem/Habitats ................................................................................................................ 9 Ecosystem Threats ................................................................................................................. 9 Conservation/Management Actions ........................................................................................ 9 Goals of the Project ................................................................................................................. 9 Hypotheses to be Addressed with Future Sampling ............................................................ 9 METHODS .................................................................................................................................. 10 Study Site.................................................................................................................................... 10 Fuel Reduction Thinning Treatments ................................................................................... 11 MSHCP Covered Species (Covered Plants and Host Plants for Covered Butterflies) .............................................................................................................................. 12 MSHCP Covered Ecosystems ............................................................................................... 13 Data Syntheses and Analyses .............................................................................................. 14 MSHCP Covered Species ..................................................................................................... 15 MSHCP Covered Ecosystems .............................................................................................. 15 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................... 16 Objectives Completed ........................................................................................................... 16 MSHCP Covered Species ..................................................................................................... 18 Baseline Vegetation Conditions ......................................................................................... 18 Power Analyses ................................................................................................................. 18 MSHCP Covered Ecosystems .............................................................................................. 18 Shrub and Tree Density and Cover .................................................................................... 18 Invasive Species Cover, Density, and Diversity ................................................................. 19 Native Annual Species Cover, Density, and Diversity ........................................................ 19 Native Perennial Species Cover, Density, and Diversity .................................................... 20 Evidence Objectives/Needs were Met/Fulfilled ................................................................... 20 Maps ........................................................................................................................................ 20 Evaluation/Discussion of Results ........................................................................................ 21 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 23 Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 23 Field Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 23 Analyses for the Covered Plant Populations ...................................................................... 24 Analyses for the Listed Ecosystems .................................................................................. 24 Additional Considerations .................................................................................................. 25 Literature Cited ...................................................................................................................... 26 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 29 3 Table of Contents Cont. Tables ....................................................................................................................................