New York and Long Island Field Offices Strategic Plan FY2012 Table of Contents Page Strategic Plan Introduction 6 New York Focal Area Map 8 ALLEGHENY FOCAL AREA 9 Allegheny Focal Area Map 10 Bald Eagle Species Action Plan 11 Broad-winged Hawk Species Action Plan 19 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 27 Cerulean Warbler Species Action Plan 35 Clubshell Species Action Plan 43 Eastern Hellbender Species Action Plan 51 Rayed Bean Species Action Plan 63 Spotted Darter Species Action Plan 70 FINGER LAKES ONONDAGA FOCAL AREA 78 Finger Lakes/Onondaga Focal Area Map 79 American Hart’s-tongue Fern Species Action Plan 80 American Black Duck Species Action Plan 86 Bog Turtle Species Action Plan 95 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 103 Cerulean Warbler Species Action Plan 113 Chittenango Ovate Amber Snail Species Action Plan 122 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 129 Lake Sturgeon Species Action Plan 139 Leedy’s Roseroot Species Action Plan 148 Massasauga Rattlesnake Species Action Plan 154 GREAT LAKES FOCAL AREA 160 Great Lakes Focal Area Map 162 American Woodcock Species Action Plan 163 ii Bald Eagle Species Action Plan 173 American Black Duck Species Action Plan 182 Bobolink Species Action Plan 192 Bog Turtle Species Action Plan 199 Broad-winged Hawk Species Action Plan 205 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 212 Cerulean Warbler Species Action Plan 221 Common Tern Species Action Plan 229 Houghton’s Goldenrod Species Action Plan 237 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 244 Lake Sturgeon Species Action Plan 253 Massasauga Rattlesnake Species Action Plan 262 Piping Plover Species Action Plan 268 LONG ISLAND FOCAL AREA 272 Long Island Focal Area Map 274 Piping Plover Species Action Plan 275 Red Knot Species Action Plan 285 Roseate Tern Species Action Plan 295 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Species Action Plan 300 Sandplain Gerardia Species Action Plan 309 Seabeach Amaranth Species Action Plan 314 Eastern Tiger Salamander Species Action Plan 319 Winter Flounder Species Action Plan 327 LOWER HUDSON FOCAL AREA 333 Lower Hudson Focal Area Map 335 American Eel Species Action Plan 336 Bald Eagle Species Action Plan 341 Blanding’s Turtle Species Action Plan 350 Bog Turtle Species Action Plan 357 Dwarf Wedgemussel Species Action Plan 366 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 372 iii New England Cottontail Species Action Plan 381 Northern Wild Monkshood Species Action Plan 390 Small Whorled Pogonia Species Action Plan 395 ST. LAWRENCE FOCAL AREA 402 St. Lawrence Focal Area Map 404 American Black Duck Species Action Plan 405 American Eel Species Action Plan 414 American Woodcock Species Action Plan 422 Bald Eagle Species Action Plan 431 Blanding’s Turtle Species Action Plan 439 Bobolink Species Action Plan 446 Common Tern Species Action Plan 453 Golden-winged Warbler Species Action Plan 461 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 469 Lake Sturgeon Species Action Plan 479 Northern Pike Species Action Plan 489 UPPER HUDSON FOCAL AREA 498 Upper Hudson Focal Area Map 500 American Black Duck Species Action Plan 501 American Woodcock Species Action Plan 509 Blanding’s Turtle Species Action Plan 518 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 525 Field Sparrow Species Action Plan 534 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 541 Karner Blue Butterfly Species Action Plan 550 New England Cottontail Species Action Plan 559 UPPER SUSQUEHANNA FOCAL AREA 567 Upper Susquehanna Focal Area Map 568 American Shad Species Action Plan 569 American Woodcock Species Action Plan 575 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 584 iv Eastern Hellbender Species Action Plan 593 Jefferson/Blue-spotted Complex Salamander Species Action Plan 606 Northeastern Bulrush Species Action Plan 612 Appendix 1: Congressional District Map 618 Appendix 2: Focal Area Summary Table 619 Appendix 3: Acronyms and Abbreviations 622 v U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service New York and Long Island Field Offices Strategic Plan Introduction The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is evolving its landscape level approach to conservation. Like many of our conservation partners, there is a realization that, with the increasing numbers of species being designated as species of greatest conservation need, or have been Federally- or State-listed as threatened or endangered, that we must approach their recovery in a more holistic manner at the same scale they occur, a landscape scale. Working at a landscape scale requires working across political jurisdictions and with our many conservation partners; it requires an integration of efforts with each organization contributing within the scope of its mission. The New York and Long Island Field Offices have developed a strategic plan for our future work. This plan provides the direction of our field offices’ work and allows us to clearly articulate to others what our goals are and why. Our plan was developed using the Strategic Habitat Conservation approach (SHC). The SHC approach is an adaptive management methodology with 4 identifiable phases – biological planning, conservation design, conservation implementation, and monitoring. You will see that our strategic plan reflects this process in its construction. During the biological planning phase, our office identified 8 geographic focal areas within New York that support concentrations of species of greatest conservation need or were important for the future of the species within their current or potential future range as modified by climate change. Forty-one priority representative species were selected. We identified and ranked threats, and identified population goals for these species. In the conservation design phase, we identified strategies to attain our population goals by determining ways to mitigate the threats having the greatest impact on the species. Monitoring will be done to determine if our strategies are successful or need to be modified. The timeline over which this plan will be implemented is biologically based, that is, our planning timeframe will be consistent with the timeline it will take to reach the specific goal we have identified. We are taking the long view. Every fiscal/performance year we will identify those actions from our plan we are committing to undertake. Those actions will constitute our annual work plan. You will see those actions identified within the document in blue text. For convenience they are also extracted from the text and placed in appendices organized by office program and by species. Our plan is a living document. Using an adaptive management strategy means we will modify the plan as appropriate as we coordinate with our conservation partners, evaluate new 6 information and our monitoring results, and take stock of the resources available to us for implementation. We strive to improve the delivery of conservation in the most effective and efficient means possible. We are very interested in your feedback. We encourage those who read this plan to identify where we may have common goals and can work together. If you have information or insights that will help improve our plan, please share those with us. The way to the future is a shared one. We look forward to working with you. 7 New York Field Office Focal Areas 0 25 50 100 Miles ± St. Lawrence Great Lakes Upper Finger Lakes- Hudson Onondaga Allegheny Upper Susquehanna Lower Hudson Long Island ALLEGHENY FOCAL AREA The Allegheny Focal Area (AFA) is located in the southwestern corner of New York and contains 1,906 square miles or 3.5% of the state. The overall boundary is demarcated largely by the Allegheny River watershed, which drains into Pennsylvania. From west to east, the AFA transitions from the heavily glaciated Low Lime Drift Plains with a local relief of 250-400 feet to the unglaciated High Allegheny Plateau with a local relief of 500-1000 feet. Overall elevation range within the focal area is 1000-2350 feet. The AFA is characterized by the steep topography and the high overall elevation of the Allegheny Plateau as well as by Chautauqua Lake, the Allegheny Reservoir, and the Allegheny River. The Allegheny River Basin is one of two principle tributaries to the Ohio River Valley and has historically been one of the most resource rich extractive areas in the United States. All of or portions of three New York counties are included within the AFA boundary including Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua. Approximately 190,000 people live within this focal area, concentrated primarily southeast of Chautauqua Lake, including the City of Jamestown and in the Allegheny River Valley, including the City of Olean. Land uses transition from lesser areas of dairy, agriculture, and development to more predominate land uses related to forestry as topography increases. This focal area was selected because it contains extensive forests as well as high quality aquatic systems. There are currently two Federally-listed species (endangered [E], candidate [C]) and six identified species of concern within the focal area. The heart of this focal area centers on the heavily forested 65,000-acre Allegany State Park, which is surrounded by state and privately-owned forested lands. These areas are important habitat for the cerulean warbler and, along with associated edges and shrublands, broad winged hawk and golden-winged warbler. This focal area is included within Bird Conservation Region 28 (Appalachian) and Partners in Flight Physiographic Area 24 (Allegheny Plateau). The AFA also contains 4,086 miles of freshwater rivers and streams including the French Creek sub-watershed, which is considered the most biologically rich aquatic system in the northeastern United States. The clubshell (E) and rayed bean (C) mussels, as well as the eastern hellbender salamander, are found here, all of which require low sediment, unpolluted streams. Additionally, important fish species, such as the brook trout and spotted darter, occur in the AFA. The New York Field Office actively seeks to promote the above resources by addressing issues related to interactions with Marcellus shale drilling, oil drilling, water-level regulations, hydropower, wind power, forestry practices, and development.