Year End Report for the 2017 Botanical Survey Season 13 March 2018 Year End Report for the 2017 Botanical Survey Season Prepared for: CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Northern Region, Timberland Conservation Planning Prepared by: CONSERVATION PLANNING DEPARTMENT Keith Hamm, Department Manager Elicia Goldsworthy, Botanist David Lamphear, Research Analyst 2017 Botanical Survey Crew Gabe Cashman, Lead Botanical Technician Tristan Cole, Resource Technician (Botany/Forestry) Hollie Ernest, Resource Technician (Botany/Forestry) Jonathan Lee, Resource Technician (Botany/IFM-Nursery) Alexandra Bandeian, Seasonal Botanical Technician Jonathan Lucas, Seasonal Botanical Technician Kolby Lundgren, Seasonal Botanical Technician Evan Mahony-Moyer, Seasonal Botanical Technician TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................4 Results of Special Status Native Plant Populations Surveys .......................................................................................5 Rare Species - California Rare Plant Rank (CRPR) 1 and 2 Detections in 2017 .......................................................5 Uncommon Species – California Rare Plant Rank 3 and 4 Detections in 2017 ......................................................5 Potentially Rare Species Detected in 2017 .............................................................................................................5 Non-Rare Species Detected in 2017 .......................................................................................................................6 Spotted knapweed monitoring at Sweet Flat, Mad River ......................................................................................6 Coastal Lagoons and Little River Botanical Management Plan STATUS .....................................................................8 Summary of THP activity and survey coverage in the CL/LR BMA since adoption of the Botanical Management Plan (BMP) in 2008. ................................................................................................................................................8 Montia howellii monitoring in Salmon Creek .............................................................................................................9 Year End Mitigation Summary ................................................................................................................................. 20 Bensoniella Monitoring ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Property-Wide Summary Table for 2017 Floristic Surveys...................................................................................... 23 Entire Database Records since 2001: Vascular Plant Species List .......................................................................... 31 Work cited ............................................................................................................................................................... 53 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Centaurea stoebe Sweet Flat, Mad River ....................................................................................................7 Figure 2. Howell's montia seven-year occupancy trend. ........................................................................................ 12 Figure 3. Harvest history within the Salmon Creek MOHO sampling universe. ...................................................... 12 Figure 4. Sampling results 2011. ............................................................................................................................. 13 Figure 5. Sampling results 2012. ............................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 6. Sampling results 2013. ............................................................................................................................. 15 Figure 7. Sampling results 2014. ............................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 8. Sampling results 2015. ............................................................................................................................. 17 Figure 9. Sampling results 2016. ............................................................................................................................. 18 Figure 10. Sampling Results 2017 ............................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 11. Bensoniella oregana at transplant site ................................................................................................... 21 Figure 12. Bensoniella oregana tracking reports .................................................................................................... 22 Year End Report for the 2017 Botanical Survey Season 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Green Diamond Resource Company (GDRCo) botany technicians surveyed a total of 60 timber harvest plans covering approximately 12,929 total acres. A total of 47 plans were surveyed to completion; 7 plans were initiated in 2016 and completed in 2017; and 6 plans were initiated in 2017 and will be completed in 2018. The 2017 floristic survey season commenced on March 8th and terminated on September 28th with an estimated 130 field days. A total of 106 new California Rare Plant Rank (CRPR) 1-2 BotID#s were generated representing 5 taxa. It is worth noting that 46 of 106 the new CRPR 1-2 BotID#s are previously unrecorded populations of Erythronium revolutum. A total of 187 new CRPR 3-4 BotID#s representing 13 taxa were generated as part of a continued commitment to collecting spatial and habitat data for uncommon species. No State or Federally listed Rare, Threatened or Endangered species were identified during the 2017 survey effort. Within the Coastal Lagoons and Little River Botanical Management Area (CL/LR BMA), 11 harvest plans were reviewed and 8 received surveys in unique habitats. Three populations of seaside bittercress (Cardamine angulata) were detected in the BMA, which considerably expanded the known range of this species. In addition, several populations of running pine (Lycopodium clavatum) and other uncommon native plants were identified including Oregon goldthreads (Coptis laciniata), Pacific golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium glechomifolium) and nodding semaphore grass (Pleuropogon refractus). A summary data set for all occurrences was submitted to the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) on March 13, 2018; this package included 285 field survey forms for all CRPR taxa discovered in 2017; and 115 follow-up forms for five taxa and the corresponding location data in ESRI File Based Geodatabase (FBGDB) format. Note that 98 of the 115 follow-ups were associated with mitigated Monotropa uniflora populations. Monitoring for Montia howellii in the Salmon Creek Tract continued for a seventh consecutive year. Surveys were conducted by a 4-person technical team from March 7th through March 17th for a total of nine field days. Results of the occupancy data show a decreasing trend and a substantial amount of variability from year to year. Downward trending occupancy is presumed to be associated with habitat loss associated with minimization of road use in compliance with the existing Road Sediment Reduction Plan as described in the South Fork Elk River Management Plan (GDRCo 2006). Year End Report for the 2017 Botanical Survey Season 4 RESULTS OF SPECIAL STATUS NATIVE PLANT POPULATIONS SURVEYS Rare Species - California Rare Plant Rank (CRPR) 1 and 2 Detections in 2017 Detections Number of CRPR Scientific Name Common name Code (BotID#s) Projects 2B.1 Cardamine angulata seaside bittercress CAAN 12 5 1B.2 Gilia capitata ssp. pacifica Pacific gilia GICAPA 1 1 2B.2 Erythronium revolutum coast fawn lily ERRE 46 8 2B.2 Monotropa uniflora ghost-pipe MOUN 46 8 2B.2 Montia howellii Howell’s montia MOHO 1 2 Total 106 n/a Uncommon Species – California Rare Plant Rank 3 and 4 Detections in 2017 Detections Number of CRPR Scientific Name Common name Code (BotID#s) Projects 4.3 Chysosplenium glechomifolium Pacific golden saxifrage CHGL 17 10 4.2 Coptis laciniata Oregon goldthreads COLA 13 7 4.2 Listera cordata heart-leaved twayblade LICO 54 21 4.1 Lycopodium clavatum running-pine LYCL 20 9 4.2 Mitellastra caulescens leafy-stemmed mitrewort MICAU 17 11 4.3 Oxalis suksdorfii Suksdorf woodsorrel OXSU 5 1 4.2 Pityopus californicus California pinefoot PICAL 27 12 4.2 Platanthera stricta Slender bog orchid PLST 1 1 4.2 Pleuropogon refractus nodding semaphore grass PLRE 9 7 4.3 Ribes laxiflorum trailing black currant RILA 12 7 4.3 Thermopsis gracilis slender goldenbanner THGR 2 1 3.2 Tiarella trifoliata var. trifoliata Threeleaf foamflower TITRTR 1 1 4.2 Usnea longissima Long-beard lichen USLO 9 6 Total 187 n/a Potentially Rare Species Detected in 2017 Populations of potentially rare species found in 2017 that could not be reliably identified are being tracked by a permanent GDRCo BotID#. Lack of full identification was typically due to a lack of flowering individuals; this has particularly been a problem with Piperia and Erythronium. Plants are often detected in the spring by their leaves which senesce by the time the plants flower in the later summer. Upon subsequent visits to the sites during the flowering