British Columbia Recovery Strategy Series Recovery Strategy for the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) in British Columbia Prepared by the Pacific Giant Salamander Recovery Team April 2010 About the British Columbia Recovery Strategy Series This series presents the recovery strategies that are prepared as advice to the Province of British Columbia on the general strategic approach required to recover species at risk. The Province prepares recovery strategies to meet its commitments to recover species at risk under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada, and the Canada – British Columbia Agreement on Species at Risk. What is recovery? Species at risk recovery is the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, or extirpated species is arrested or reversed, and threats are removed or reduced to improve the likelihood of a species’ persistence in the wild. What is a recovery strategy? A recovery strategy represents the best available scientific knowledge on what is required to achieve recovery of a species or ecosystem. A recovery strategy outlines what is and what is not known about a species or ecosystem; it also identifies threats to the species or ecosystem, and what should be done to mitigate those threats. Recovery strategies set recovery goals and objectives, and recommend approaches to recover the species or ecosystem. Recovery strategies are usually prepared by a recovery team with members from agencies responsible for the management of the species or ecosystem, experts from other agencies, universities, conservation groups, aboriginal groups, and stakeholder groups as appropriate. What’s next? In most cases, one or more action plan(s) will be developed to define and guide implementation of the recovery strategy. Action plans include more detailed information about what needs to be done to meet the objectives of the recovery strategy. However, the recovery strategy provides valuable information on threats to the species and their recovery needs that may be used by individuals, communities, land users, and conservationists interested in species at risk recovery. For more information To learn more about species at risk recovery in British Columbia, please visit the Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning webpage at: <http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/recoveryplans/rcvry1.htm> Recovery Strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander April 2010 Recovery Strategy for the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) in British Columbia Prepared by the Pacific Giant Salamander Recovery Team April 2010 Recovery Strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander April 2010 Recommended citation Pacific Giant Salamander Recovery Team. 2010. Recovery strategy for the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 42pp. Cover illustration/photograph Laura Friis Additional copies Additional copies can be downloaded from the B.C. Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning webpage at: <http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/recoveryplans/rcvry1.htm> Publication information ISBN: 978-0-7726-6312-2 Date: June 28, 2010 British Columbia. Ministry of Environment.Recovery Strategy for the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) in British Columbia [electronic resource] Content (excluding illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source. Disclaimer i Recovery Strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander April 2010 This recovery strategy has been prepared by the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) Recovery Team, as advice to the responsible jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved in recovering the species. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment has received this advice as part of fulfilling its commitments under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada, and the Canada – British Columbia Agreement on Species at Risk. This document identifies the recovery strategies that are deemed necessary, based on the best available scientific and traditional information, to recover Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) populations in British Columbia. Recovery actions, which have been derived to achieve the goals and objectives identified herein, are subject to the priorities and budgetary constraints of participatory agencies and organizations. These goals, objectives, and recovery approaches may be modified in the future to accommodate new objectives and findings. The responsible jurisdictions and all members of the recovery team have had an opportunity to review this document. However, this document does not necessarily represent the official positions of the agencies or the personal views of all individuals on the recovery team. Success in the recovery of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that may be involved in implementing the directions set out in this strategy. The Ministry of Environment encourages all British Columbians to participate in the recovery of the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus). ii Recovery Strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander April 2010 RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS Name Affiliation Organization or position Kym Welstead Province of B.C. Chair; B.C. MoE – SAR – Regional Species at Risk (Chair) Recovery Biologist Allan Johnsrude Province of B.C. B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range – Stewardship Officer David Urban Regional District Fraser Valley Regional District Denis Knopp Environmental NGO Federation of B.C. Naturalists Jan Jonker Industry Tamihi Logging Ltd. Jim Vickerson Municipality City of Chilliwack, Municipal Development Department Laura Friis Province of B.C. B.C. MoE John Richardson Academic University of British Columbia Lucy Reiss Government of Environment Canada – CWS Canada Marie Goulden Government of Department of National Defence (Chilliwack) Canada Todd Ewing Industry Cattermole Timber Matt Wealick Industry Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Forest Limited Purnima Province of B.C. B.C. MoE Govindarajulu Arthur Robinson Government of Canadian Forest Service Canada Observers/Alternates/Former members Ross Vennesland Province of B.C. Former chair; B.C. MoE – SAR – Regional Species at Risk Recovery Biologist Marc Hayes U.S. Government Washington Fish & Wildlife Kelly McAllister U.S. Government Washington Fish & Wildlife Gene MacInnis Province of B.C. B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range – Operations Manager David Cunnington Government of Environment Canada – CWS Canada Meeri Durand Regional District Fraser Valley Regional District Robert Wolf Municipality Chilliwack City Johnathon Stamp First Nations Sto:lo Nation David Hutchings Environmental NGO Chilliwack Field Naturalists Danielle Smith Government of Department of National Defence (Esquimalt) Canada iii Recovery Strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander April 2010 AUTHORS Pacific Giant Salamander Recovery Team RESPONSIBLE JURISDICTIONS The recovery strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) was developed by the Pacific Giant Salamander Recovery Team as advice to the Province of British Columbia. Pacific Giant Salamander populations occur in the Chilliwack Forest District of British Columbia. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment is responsible for producing a recovery strategy for this species under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada. Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service also participated in the development of this document, as it is responsible under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) for this species (which is referred to as Coastal Giant Salamander under SARA), and is on the recovery team. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The original (2004) version of this report was prepared by Kristina Ovaska, Lennart Sopuck, Ross Vennesland, and Christian Engelstoft with input from Dennis Knopp and members of the Pacific Giant Salamander Recovery Team. The B.C. Ministry of the Environment has since developed a new set of recovery strategy format guidelines, and the Recovery Team is therefore submitting an updated version of the recovery strategy. Revisions and updates were made by Kym Welstead with assistance from Lennart Sopuck and Kristiina Ovaska. Jeff Brown, David Toews, Stephen Hureau, Marie-José Ribeyron, and Todd Manning provided useful comments on an earlier version of the revised strategy. Many people have generously contributed information for this report. Sylvia Letay, Barbara Johnston, Marta Donavan, Erin Prescott, John Richardson, Jim Vickerson, Christine Chapman, Marie Goulden, Arthur Robinson, Gene MacInnes, and Todd Ewing contributed data and/or information on land use within the range of the Pacific Giant Salamander. Laura Friis, Mark Stone, Laura Matthias, and Kevin Chernoff helped with spatial data, literature search, and review and compilation of the report. Kelly McAllister and Bill Leonard kindly provided information on the distribution of the species in Washington State. Hartwell Welsh generously allowed us to use his unpublished map of the global distribution of this species prepared for A Field Guide to the Amphibians of Northwestern North America (Jones and Leonard [eds.] 2005). iv Recovery Strategy for Pacific Giant Salamander April 2010 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Pacific Giant Salamander is a large charismatic salamander that can grow up to 30 cm in length. This marbled golden brown salamander is the only member of the family Dicamptodontidae that occurs in Canada. The species’ range extends from extreme southwestern British Columbia through western Washington and