National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Special Status Vascular Plant Surveys and Habitat Modeling in Yosemite National Park, 2003–2004 Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SIEN/NRTR—2010/389 ON THE COVER USGS and NPS joint survey for Tompkins’ sedge (Carex tompkinsii), south side Merced River, El Portal, Mariposa County, California (upper left); Yosemite onion (Allium yosemitense) (upper right); Yosemite lewisia (Lewisia disepala) (lower left); habitat model for mountain lady’s slipper (Cypripedium montanum) in Yosemite National Park, California (lower right). Photographs by: Peggy E. Moore. Special Status Vascular Plant Surveys and Habitat Modeling in Yosemite National Park, 2003–2004 Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SIEN/NRTR—2010/389 Peggy E. Moore, Alison E. L. Colwell, and Charlotte L. Coulter U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center 5083 Foresta Road El Portal, California 95318 October 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. This report is available from Sierra Nevada Network Inventory & Monitoring Program’s website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/units/sien) and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM). Please cite this publication as: Moore, P. E., A. E. L. Colwell, and C. L. Coulter. 2010. Special status vascular plant surveys and habitat modeling in Yosemite National Park, 2003–2004. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SIEN/NRTR—2010/389. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 104/105895, October 2010 ii Contents Page Figures........................................................................................................................................... vii Tables ............................................................................................................................................. ix Appendixes .................................................................................................................................... xi Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... xv 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Existing Data .......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Study Area ........................................................................................................................ 2 2 - Special-Status Plant Species List Revision ............................................................................... 5 2.1 Prioritization for Surveys .................................................................................................. 6 3 - Field Surveys ............................................................................................................................. 9 3.1 Introduction and Strategy .................................................................................................. 9 3.1.1 Relocating Documented Populations ..................................................................... 9 3.1.2 Locating New Populations ................................................................................... 10 3.2 Species Surveyed and Justification ................................................................................. 10 3.2.1 Forest Service Sensitive ....................................................................................... 11 3.2.2. California Native Plant Society (CNPS) List 1B: Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California and Elsewhere ............................................. 13 3.2.3. California Native Plant Society (CNPS) List 2: Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California, but More Common Elsewhere ........................................ 13 3.2.4 California Native Plant Society (CNPS) List 3: More Information Needed (Review List) ................................................................................................... 14 3.2.5 California Native Plant Society (CNPS) List 4: Limited Distribution (Watch List) .............................................................................................. 14 iii 3.2.6 Park Sensitive ....................................................................................................... 14 3.3 Data collection ................................................................................................................ 14 3.3.1 Survey Information .............................................................................................. 15 3.3.2 Data Management ................................................................................................ 17 4 - Potential Habitat Mapping ....................................................................................................... 19 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Mapping Approach ......................................................................................................... 20 4.2.1 Taxa Selected for Habitat Mapping ..................................................................... 21 4.2.2 Map Verification Strategy .................................................................................... 22 5 - Results ..................................................................................................................................... 23 5.1 Field Survey Results and Species Status ........................................................................ 23 5.1.1 Agrostis humilis .................................................................................................... 25 5.1.2 Allium yosemitense ............................................................................................... 25 5.1.3 Bolandra californica ............................................................................................ 26 5.1.4 Carex buxbaumii .................................................................................................. 26 5.1.5 Carex limosa ........................................................................................................ 27 5.1.6 Carex tompkinsii .................................................................................................. 27 5.1.7 Cinna bolanderi ................................................................................................... 28 5.1.8 Clarkia australis .................................................................................................. 28 5.1.9 Cypripedium montanum ....................................................................................... 29 5.1.10 Draba praealta ................................................................................................... 29 5.1.11 Drosera rotundifolia .......................................................................................... 30 5.1.12 Dulichium arundinaceum ................................................................................... 30 5.1.13 Epipactis gigantea .............................................................................................. 30 5.1.14 Erigeron linearis ................................................................................................ 31 iv 5.1.15 Eriophorum gracile ............................................................................................ 31 5.1.16 Eriophyllum congdonii ......................................................................................