U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii (Spalding’s Catchfly) Silene spaldingii Janice Hill Silene spaldingii/Steve Wirt Silene spaldingii/Steve Wirt Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii (Spalding’s Catchfly) Region 1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Portland, Oregon i Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 Disclaimer Recovery plans delineate reasonable actions that are believed to be required to recover and protect listed species. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, publish recovery plans, sometimes with the assistance of recovery teams, contractors, State agencies, Tribal agencies, and other affected and interested parties. Objectives will be attained and any necessary funds made available subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need to address other priorities. Recovery plans do not obligate other parties to undertake specific actions and may not represent the views nor the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in recovery plan formulation, other than our own. They represent our official position only after they have been signed by the Regional Director or Director as approved. Recovery plans are reviewed by the public and submitted to peer review before we adopt them as approved final documents. Approved recovery plans are subject to modification as dictated by new findings, changes in species status, and the completion of recovery actions. Please check for updates or revisions at the website below before using. Notice regarding use of proprietary data: All plant locations given are approximate. Exact plant locations are proprietary data of the NatureServe/Heritage programs of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and cannot be redistributed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service without specific authorization. Contact your local NatureServe/Heritage Program office to obtain a copy of their plant location database. Literature citation of this document should read as follows: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2007. Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii (Spalding’s Catchfly). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. xiii + 187 pages. Electronic copies of this document will be made available at: <http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html> and <http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/plans.html> ii Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 Acknowledgements The wide-ranging nature of this rare species has necessitated the involvement of numerous individuals. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, gratefully acknowledge the commitment and efforts of the following individuals to the recovery of Silene spaldingii. Without their assistance, this plan would not have been possible. LeAnn (Eno) Abell Frank Fink Idaho Bureau of Land Management Idaho Natural Resources Conservation Service Julie Anderson and Mike Finch Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area Zach Funkhouse and Company Idaho Transportation Department Joseph Arnett Washington Natural Heritage Program Karen Gray Idaho Conservation Data Center Barbara Benner Washington Bureau of Land Jerome Hansen Management Idaho Department of Fish and Game Joanne Bigcrane Herman Harder The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Adams County Noxious Weed Control Tribes of the Flathead Reservation Board Florence Caplow Tom Hawkins Washington Natural Heritage Program Idaho Department of Lands/Craig Mountain Carrie Cordova Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Mike Hays Office Nez Perce National Forest Lynn Danly Trish Heekin Idaho Bureau of Land Management Latah County Soil and Water Conservation District Delores Davisson Private Individual Janice Hill Idaho Conservation Data Center iii Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 Jasa Holt Roger Rosentreter Washington Natural Heritage Program Idaho Bureau of Land Management Jerry Hustafa Mike Rule Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge Wayne and Jacie Jensen Jerry Sawyer JenCrops Flathead State Park Alan and Darla Klages Joe Schmick Private Landowners Private landowner Peter Lesica Phil Shepard Consultant The Nature Conservancy of Oregon Mark Lowry Angela Sondenaa Idaho Bureau of Land Management Nez Perce Tribe Michael Mancuso Kimberly St. Hilaire Consultant Bonneville Power Administration Maria Mantas Diane Stutzman The Nature Conservancy of Montana Washington Bureau of Land Management Blair McClarin Nez Perce Tribe Roald Tangvald Private Landowner Bill Mervyn Private Landowner Robert Taylor The Nature Conservancy of Oregon Gary Miller La Grande Fish and Wildlife Office U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Offices Scott Mincemoyer Boise, Idaho Montana Natural Heritage Program Helena and Kalispell, Montana La Grande, Oregon Kendrick Moholt Spokane and Lacey, Washington Private Landowner Lynn Verlanic Bison Range Complex National Wildlife Refuge iv Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 Jonathan Wald Jean Wood Fairchild Air Force Base Umatilla National Forest John Williams Eugene Yates Oregon State University Extension Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Service Ben Zamora Jim White and Company Washington State University Kramer Idaho Department of Fish and Game Prairie Natural Area v Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 Executive Summary Current Species Status: Silene spaldingii (Spalding’s catchfly) is an herbaceous perennial plant in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae). It is a regional endemic found predominantly in bunchgrass grasslands and sagebrush-steppe, and occasionally in open pine communities, in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, west-central Idaho, western Montana, and barely extending into British Columbia, Canada. There are currently 99 known populations of S. spaldingii, with two thirds of these (66 populations) composed of fewer than 100 individuals each. There are an additional 23 populations with at least 100 or more individuals apiece, and the 10 largest populations are each made up of more than 500 plants. Occupied habitat includes five physiographic (physical geographic) regions: the Palouse Grasslands in west-central Idaho and southeastern Washington; the Channeled Scablands in eastern Washington; the Blue Mountain Basins in northeastern Oregon; the Canyon Grasslands of the Snake River and its tributaries in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington; and the Intermontane Valleys of northwestern Montana. Silene spaldingii was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act on October 10, 2001 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2001). Silene spaldingii has been assigned a recovery priority number of 8C on a scale from 1C (highest) to 18 (lowest), indicating its taxonomic status as a full species, a moderate degree of threats or impacts, high potential for recovery, and potential conflict with economic activities. Habitat Requirements and Limiting Factors: In general Silene spaldingii is found in open, mesic (moist) grassland communities or sagebrush-steppe communities. However, the species is occasionally found within open pine forests. The bunchgrass grasslands where S. spaldingii primarily occurs are characterized by either Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue) or F. idahoensis (Idaho fescue) with Agropyron spicatum = Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass) except in Montana where the dominant bunchgrass is F. scabrella (rough fescue). The plant is found at elevations ranging from 365 to 1,615 meters (1,200 to 5,300 feet), usually in deep, productive loess soils (fine, windblown soils). Plants are generally found in swales or on northwest to northeast facing slopes where soil moisture is relatively higher. Silene spaldingii continues to be impacted by habitat loss due to human development, habitat degradation associated with adverse grazing and trampling by domestic livestock and wildlife, and invasions of aggressive nonnative plants. In addition, a loss of genetic fitness v Recovery Plan for Silene spaldingii ● September 2007 (the loss of genetic variability and effects of inbreeding) is a problem for many small, fragmented populations where genetic exchange is limited. Other impacts include changes in fire frequency and seasonality, off-road vehicle use, and herbicide spraying and drift. Recovery Strategy: The objective of the recovery program is to recover Silene spaldingii by protecting and maintaining reproducing, self-sustaining populations in each of the five distinct physiographic regions where it resides. Within each of these regions we have identified key conservation areas to focus conservation efforts at larger populations. A key conservation area possesses the following qualities: • Composed of intact habitat (not fragmented), preferably 40 acres (16 hectares) in size or greater1 • Native plants comprise at least 80 percent of the canopy cover of the vegetation community • Adjacent habitat sufficient to support pollinating insects • Habitat is of the quality and quantity necessary to support at least 500 reproducing individuals of S. spaldingii The protection and management of these key conservation areas, or areas that have the potential to serve as key conservation areas, forms the foundation of the recovery strategy for S. spaldingii. When possible, these key conservation areas should be surrounded by 300 acres of habitat that is intact or can be restored to eventually support S. spaldingii. Recovery Goal, Objectives, and Delisting Criteria: The goal of the recovery program is to recover Silene spaldingii