Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area Management Plan 2014 Magic Valley Region Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area 2014 – 2023 Management Plan December 2014 Idaho Department of Fish and Game Magic Valley Region 324 South 417 East, Suite #1 Jerome, Idaho 83338 Prepared By: Terry Gregory Habitat Biologist, Centennial Habitat District Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area Management Plan 2014 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................3 LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................5 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................9 Department Mission .............................................................................................................9 Department Strategic Goals .................................................................................................9 Statewide WMA Vision .....................................................................................................10 Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA Vision.................................................................10 Modification of Plan ..........................................................................................................10 Other Considerations .........................................................................................................10 AREA DESCRIPTION AND CURRENT STATUS ....................................................................11 MANAGEMENT ISSUES ............................................................................................................14 Issues Identified By the Public and/or Department ...........................................................14 Habitat Management ..............................................................................................14 Wildlife Management ............................................................................................16 Public Use Management ........................................................................................17 CAMAS PRAIRIE CENTENNIAL MARSH WMA MANAGEMENT PROGRAM .................18 Summary of Management Priorities ..................................................................................19 BPA Wildlife Mitigation Funds .............................................................................19 Focal Species Assessment..................................................................................................19 Selection of Conservation Targets .....................................................................................25 Palustrine Wetland Habitat ....................................................................................25 Grassland Habitat ...................................................................................................26 Sage-steppe Habitat ...............................................................................................26 Viability Assessment of Selected Conservation Targets ...................................................26 Spatial Delineation of Selected Focal Species/Habitat Landscapes ..................................28 Palustrine Wetland .................................................................................................29 Grassland Habitat ...................................................................................................30 Sage-steppe Habitat ...............................................................................................31 3 | Page Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area Management Plan 2014 Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA Management Program Table .............................32 MONITORING ..............................................................................................................................35 Compliance Monitoring .....................................................................................................35 Biological Monitoring ........................................................................................................35 Public Use Monitoring .......................................................................................................36 Reporting............................................................................................................................36 Current Monitoring Efforts ................................................................................................38 Weed Monitoring/Mapping ...................................................................................38 Traffic Counters .....................................................................................................38 User Surveys ..........................................................................................................38 Wildlife Population Surveys ..................................................................................38 Recommended Future Monitoring Efforts Not Identified in Monitoring Table ................38 Waterfowl Breeding and Production Survey .........................................................38 Wetland Vegetation Monitoring ............................................................................39 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................40 APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................42 I. THE COMPASS – THE DEPARTMENT’S STRATEGIC PLAN ...............................43 II. HISTORY......................................................................................................................44 III. MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITIES ....................................46 IV. PUBLIC INPUT SUMMARY .....................................................................................47 V. 1999-2013 ACCOMPLISHMENTS .............................................................................48 VI. VEGETATION ............................................................................................................50 VII. WILDLIFE AND FISH SPECIES LIST ....................................................................52 VIII. NOXIOUS WEED CONTROL ................................................................................56 IX. LAND ACQUISITIONS AND AGREEMENTS ........................................................57 X. INFRASTRUCTURE ...................................................................................................60 4 | Page Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area Management Plan 2014 List of Tables Table 1. Status of Conservation Priority Species on the Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA including their Potential Suitability as Focal Species for Management. ............................21 Table 2. Analysis of Conservation Target coverage and identification of conservation needs. .............................................................................................................................................27 Table 3. Biological monitoring for Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA, 2014-2023. ............37 List of Figures Figure 1. Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area. ......................................13 Figure 2. Centennial Marsh Palustrine Wetland as the landscape scale for focal habitat consideration for Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA. ...........................................................29 Figure 3. Centennial Marsh Grassland as the landscape scale for focal habitat consideration for Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA...................................................................................30 Figure 4. Centennial Marsh sage-steppe as the landscape scale for Focal Habitat consideration for Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh WMA. ...........................................................31 5 | Page Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area Management Plan 2014 Executive Summary Idaho Department of Fish and Game (Department) manages 32 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). Researchers from the University of Idaho and The Nature Conservancy evaluated the value of Idaho’s WMAs to wildlife. They found the WMA network, created to support game species, “also conserves the full range of Idaho’s wildlife and other ecological features” (Karl et al. 2005). Surveys and monitoring work conducted by Department biologists on Magic Valley Region WMAs confirms their value to big game, nongame, and many at-risk species identified in Idaho’s State Wildlife Action Plan. In many cases, WMAs provide the principal habitat for at- risk species in the Magic Valley Region. Wildlife Management Areas often abut other protected lands such as National Forests, Bureau of Land Management lands, or private lands protected by conservation easement. Due to the wildlife-focused management, WMAs often serve as highly productive core areas of the landscapes in which they exist. Management