Biological Effectiveness Monitoring for the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan Area 2011 ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS Canal April 2012 ross Cr Natomas Cr Steel (Na Dra arden G Hwy. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS MONITORING FOR THE NATOMAS BASIN HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN AREA 2011 ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS P REPARED FOR: The Natomas Basin Conservancy 2150 River Plaza Drive, Suite 460 Sacramento, CA 95833 Contact: John Roberts, Executive Director 916.649.3331 P REPARED BY: ICF International 630 K Street, Suite 400 Sacramento, CA 95814 Contact: Douglas Leslie 916.737.3000 April 2012 Biological Effectiveness Monitoring for the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan Area 2011 Annual Survey Results ICF International. 2012. Final. April. (ICF 00890.10.) Sacramento, CA. Prepared for The Natomas Basin Conservancy, Sacramento, CA. Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1‐1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1‐1 1.1.1 Location............................................................................................................................ 1‐2 1.1.2 Setting .............................................................................................................................. 1‐2 1.2 The Biological Effectiveness Monitoring Program ........................................................... 1‐3 1.2.1 Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................... 1‐3 1.2.2 Covered Species ............................................................................................................... 1‐3 1.2.3 Types of Monitoring ......................................................................................................... 1‐3 1.3 Summary of the 2011 Biological Effectiveness Monitoring Program Results ................. 1‐5 1.4 References ....................................................................................................................... 1‐6 Chapter 2 Land Cover Mapping, Floristic Inventory, and Noxious Weed Monitoring ................ 2‐1 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2‐1 2.1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 2‐1 2.1.2 Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................... 2‐1 2.2 Methods ........................................................................................................................... 2‐2 2.2.1 Land Cover Mapping ........................................................................................................ 2‐2 2.2.2 Floristic Surveys ............................................................................................................... 2‐2 2.2.3 Noxious Weed Mapping .................................................................................................. 2‐3 2.3 Results .............................................................................................................................. 2‐3 2.3.1 Land Cover Types Basin‐Wide .......................................................................................... 2‐3 2.3.2 Land Cover Types on Reserves ......................................................................................... 2‐4 2.3.3 Noxious Weeds Surveys ................................................................................................... 2‐5 2.3.4 Floristic Surveys ............................................................................................................... 2‐6 2.3.5 Managed Marsh Vegetation Management ..................................................................... 2‐6 2.4 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 2‐7 2.4.1 Land Cover Types Basin‐Wide .......................................................................................... 2‐7 2.4.2 Land Cover Types on Reserves ......................................................................................... 2‐7 2.4.3 Floristic Surveys ............................................................................................................... 2‐7 2.4.4 Noxious Weeds ................................................................................................................ 2‐8 2.5 Effectiveness .................................................................................................................... 2‐9 2.6 Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 2‐9 2.7 References ..................................................................................................................... 2‐10 Chapter 3 Giant Gartersnake .................................................................................................... 3‐1 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3‐1 Biological Effectiveness Monitoring for the April 2012 Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan Area i ICF 00890.10 2011 Annual Survey Results 3.1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 3‐1 3.1.2 Objectives and Purposes of the Revised Monitoring Protocol ........................................ 3‐1 3.1.3 The Revised Monitoring Protocol .................................................................................... 3‐2 3.1.4 Life History ....................................................................................................................... 3‐4 3.1.5 History of the Natomas Basin .......................................................................................... 3‐5 3.2 Methods ........................................................................................................................... 3‐6 3.2.1 Demography .................................................................................................................... 3‐6 3.2.2 Distribution of Giant Gartersnake on Reserve Lands ...................................................... 3‐8 3.2.3 Size Distribution and Sex Ratio ........................................................................................ 3‐9 3.2.4 Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................................... 3‐10 3.3 Results ............................................................................................................................ 3‐10 3.3.1 Demography .................................................................................................................. 3‐10 3.3.2 Distribution of Giant Gartersnake on Reserve Lands .................................................... 3‐11 3.3.3 Size Distribution and Sex Ratio ...................................................................................... 3‐11 3.3.4 Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................................... 3‐12 3.4 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 3‐14 3.4.1 Demography .................................................................................................................. 3‐14 3.4.2 Distribution of Giant Gartersnake on Reserve Lands .................................................... 3‐16 3.4.3 Size Distribution and Sex Ratio ...................................................................................... 3‐17 3.5 Effectiveness .................................................................................................................. 3‐18 3.6 Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 3‐19 3.7 References ..................................................................................................................... 3‐20 Chapter 4 Swainson’s Hawk ...................................................................................................... 4‐1 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 4‐1 4.1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 4‐1 4.1.2 Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................... 4‐1 4.1.3 Life History ....................................................................................................................... 4‐1 4.2 Methods ........................................................................................................................... 4‐3 4.2.1 Population Assessment .................................................................................................... 4‐3 4.2.2 Habitat Assessment ......................................................................................................... 4‐4 4.3 Results 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