Conservation Management Strategy Mormon Mesa Desert Wildlife Management Area Clark County, Nevada February 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Mojave Desert population of desert tortoises has been declining since the 1970s and was declared threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1990. Impacts of urban growth, agriculture, recreation, and other human activities—coupled with the rise of predators and disease—are thought to be the major causes of tortoise decline. Over the past 16 years, several attempts to define and implement specific Conservation Actions (CAs), strategies, and plans have been proposed to protect the tortoise and other species considered imperiled. Clark County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) entered into the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) as a binding commitment to protect 78 species, including the tortoise, by providing a commitment to implement specific CAs. Subsequent to the MSHCP, a site-specific conservation management strategy (CMS) is required for each of four areas in Clark County known as Desert Wildlife Management Areas (DWMAs). The intent of the CMS is to guide management actions and to unite federal, state, and local agencies in coordinated, adaptive management for each DWMA. This document is a CMS for the Mormon Mesa DWMA, composed primarily of southern desert and Mojave shrub communities. Mormon Mesa DWMA has expansive bajadas, considered to be prime tortoise habitat. The riparian biological community associated with its two significant washes represents some of the highest biodiversity in the Mojave Desert. Human use of Mormon Mesa includes roads and trails, utility lines, wells, mining, and privately owned lands. Of pressing environmental concern is the potential for urban growth and its associated impacts within the area. The purpose of this CMS is to consolidate and prioritize CAs and guide their implementation. This document consists of eight chapters: • Chapter 1 reviews the background leading to the present situation, the need for and purpose of the CMS, and the process of its development. It also details steps that will be taken to involve and educate the public in conservation efforts. • Chapter 2 describes the Mormon Mesa planning area. It identifies gaps in the knowledge base needed to complete the CMS, reviews the existing environment and the current status of desert tortoise populations, and presents current land uses and future potential scenarios. • Chapter 3 defines the purpose of the CMS and provides conservation objectives to achieve that purpose in the context of existing federal and state policies and mandates. • Chapter 4 reviews a suite of previously proposed CAs. It assesses funding sources and staffing necessary to implement them, describes their potential effects, and ranks them based on cost–benefit ratios. • Chapter 5 recommends, in order of priority, 12 new CAs that build on the existing base to evaluate the current status of recovery in the DWMA, address gaps in knowledge, and provide a long-term research, monitoring, and management plan. Specific projects, tasks, and performance measures for each action are included. • Chapter 6 describes the implementation plan for the 12 new CAs and provides a timeline for CMS review and assessment. • Chapter 7 lists references. MORMON MESA DESERT WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY iii E XECUTIVE S UMMARY • Chapter 8 lists frequently used acronyms in the CMS. The following is a summary of the 12 new CAs described in Chapter 5. Priority CA 1—Identify where, how many, and to what extent CAs previously defined in the Clark County MSHCP have been implemented. Priority CA 2—Determine whether current levels of law enforcement staffing are sufficient to identify and quickly remedy human behaviors that negatively impact conservation. Priority CA 3—Provide managers with specific information on how and where outreach and education programs and materials are being used, whether they are effective, and how they need to be improved. Priority CA 4—Immediately establish monitoring programs for species about which very little is known concerning their distribution and abundance. Priority CA 5—Collect the results of existing research and monitoring efforts and investigate new methods of assessing threats to determine the extent and severity of human activities on sensitive species and habitats. Priority CA 6—Develop a comprehensive, centralized database to track the status of conservation efforts. Priority CA 7—Provide managers with reliable quantitative measures to more effectively evaluate conservation success using methods such as remote sensing and satellite imagery. Priority CA 8—Develop a monitoring program to determine the effectiveness of each CA. Monitoring should consist of hypothesis-based studies that measure tortoise and habitat responses before and after implementation of recovery actions. Priority CA 9—Establish a timeline for review and update of the CMS as the results of research and monitoring become available. Priority CA 10—Pursue a research program to identify tortoise movement patterns. Priority CA 11—Conduct long-term research studies on the biology and ecology of juvenile and hatchling tortoises and relate their survival rates to tortoise population viability and persistence. Priority CA 12—Pursue research aimed at recognizing, diagnosing, and treating tortoise diseases and establishing clear standards to accurately determine the health status of the tortoise population. The implementation plan of this CMS is meant to act as a guide for carrying out the CAs in consecutive steps. Changes to the CAs, to their priority ranking, and to the time frame for their implementation may occur as additional information is collected and analyzed and as funding and resources fluctuate. The adaptive management approach followed by this plan, and required by the MSHCP, links conservation strategies to the findings of research and monitoring activities over time. This CMS recommends continuous periodic review and revision of the CMS to produce the most effective plan over the long term. iv MORMON MESA DESERT WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY CONTENTS Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................iii 1. Introduction...............................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background.....................................................................................................................1 1.2 Purpose ...........................................................................................................................2 1.3 Need................................................................................................................................3 1.4 Public Participation ........................................................................................................4 1.4.1 Website.................................................................................................................4 1.4.2 Stakeholder Mailing List......................................................................................4 1.4.3 Electronic Newsletters .........................................................................................4 1.4.4 Press Releases ......................................................................................................5 1.4.5 Public Scoping Meetings......................................................................................5 1.5 Document Structure........................................................................................................5 2. Background, Inventory, and Assessment..................................................................................7 2.1 Planning Area .................................................................................................................7 2.2 Gaps in Information Needed to Complete Strategy........................................................8 2.3 Existing Environment.....................................................................................................9 2.3.1 Desert Tortoise Listing.........................................................................................9 2.3.2 Relevant Plans and Literature ..............................................................................9 2.3.3 Land Ownership and Resource Management.....................................................11 2.3.4 Human Use and Condition.................................................................................17 2.3.5 Biotic and Abiotic Factors .................................................................................23 2.3.6 Habitat Condition...............................................................................................27 2.3.7 Tortoise Population Estimates............................................................................28 2.3.8 Landscape Context.............................................................................................33 2.3.9 Biotic and Abiotic Factors .................................................................................34 2.3.10 Current and Future Threats ................................................................................35 2.4 Human Issues and Opportunities..................................................................................48 2.4.1 Economic ...........................................................................................................48