UtahComprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Effective October 1 2005–2015 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Publication Number 05-19 UTAH COMPREHENSIVE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STRATEGY (CWCS) Accepted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service September 9, 2005 Janet V. Sutter, Matthew E. Andersen, Kevin D. Bunnell, Michael F. Canning, Alan G. Clark, Dana E. Dolsen, Frank P. Howe Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 1594 West North Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-6301 Utah Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy – Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the past several decades, documented declines of wildlife populations have occurred nationwide. In Utah, the complexities of the geology and climate result in biologically diverse habitats that have historically supported approximately 700 species of vertebrate wildlife. However, introduction of non-native plant and animal species, changes in land management practices, and habitat loss and fragmentation have altered Utah’s wildlife communities. Like other states, Utah is now facing reductions in native wildlife populations. The State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program was created by Congress in 2001 to provide states and territories with federal dollars to support conservation aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming endangered and in need of protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies (CWCS) have been developed by every state and territory to ensure that SWG funds are spent to effectively restore and enhance wildlife populations and their habitat, and prevent the need for additional listings on the Endangered Species List. Conservation and management of wildlife throughout the state of Utah, in light of growing environmental pressures, will require broad public support for, and involvement in, conservation efforts. Therefore, when the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) initiated its Draft CWCS in 2002, nine public and private entities were solicited for active participation in the plan’s development. This group of organizations acts as the Partner Advisory Group to the UDWR and has been and will continue to be essential in the development and implementation of Utah’s CWCS. Since the formation of the Partner Advisory Group, UDWR has made efforts to incorporate the comments and concerns of additional stakeholders, including Indian Tribes, local governments, local and regional interest groups, and non-profit organizations, and many of these have committed to advising the UDWR. In addition, UDWR has encouraged public participation through two legislated processes: Regional Advisory Councils and the Utah Wildlife Board. To address wildlife species in the CWCS, UDWR adopted a three-tiered system that defines and prioritizes Utah’s native animal species according to conservation need. Tier I includes federally listed species and species for which a Conservation Agreement has been completed and implemented. Tier II species include those listed on the Utah Species of Concern List under sole state authority. Tier III includes species that are of conservation concern because they are linked to an at-risk habitat, have suffered marked population declines, or there is little information available regarding the ecology or status of the species. The tiered ranking system provides a perspective for wildlife managers to prioritize conservation activities. A parallel process to identify the most valuable habitat types for sensitive species statewide was developed through dialog between the Partner Advisory Group and UDWR. As a result, the CWCS describes the ten most at risk habitat types (out of 24) found in Utah, specifying their relative priority based on the degree of threat faced by each habitat type and the presence of prioritized species. After identifying species and habitats of greatest conservation need, UDWR wildlife and habitat managers identified the general and specific threats associated with priority species and habitats. These threats were reviewed and revised by members of the Partner Advisory Group. The Partner Advisory Group also identified and prioritized general and II Utah Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy – Executive Summary specific conservation actions to manage these threats so that the CWCS will be more useful in directing on-the-ground conservation activities for priority species and habitats. While the CWCS provides a framework for conservation, actual implementation of conservation actions will require the cooperation and coordination of affected stakeholders and resource managers. At an organization or agency level, actions recommended in the CWCS can be incorporated into planning efforts and management practices. Based on the CWCS, the UDWR, the Partner Advisory Group, and additional stakeholders will cooperatively develop implementation priorities. As conservation actions are implemented, adaptive management will be used to promote continual improvement of conservation through learning from past conservation actions. Adaptive management must contain a monitoring component that assesses species and habitat responses to management actions while simultaneously measuring environmental conditions that may confound monitoring results. As ongoing conservation actions are implemented and new actions are developed the CWCS will be used as a guide so that study design, evaluation, and adaptive management are thoroughly integrated into UDWR and Partner projects. The CWCS, through review and adaptation, will be an evolving document. For the CWCS to be adopted, implemented, and adapted over the next decade, the UDWR must facilitate a statewide, regional and local dialog between agencies, organizations, stakeholders, and citizens. The UDWR and its partners will convene annually in the next ten years to review and consider the status of efforts made through the CWCS, and additional evaluations will take place as needed. At the mid-point of CWCS implementation, UDWR and partners will discuss and readjust conservation efforts to more effectively progress towards the 10-year horizon of the plan. In ten years, a new CWCS will be drafted based on new data and will reflect adjustments made through adaptive management. The CWCS addresses species and habitats of conservation need and the necessity of partner and public involvement to effectively implement future conservation actions. Chapter 1 outlines the purpose of the CWCS. Chapter 2 presents the approach for including the public, stakeholders and partners. Chapter 3 addresses Partners’ authorities and missions and coordinating their involvement with the CWCS. Chapter 4 outlines the State of Utah’s efforts to merge the CWCS with other strategic plans, and lists other federal, state, and regional plans to which the CWCS will be linked. Chapter 5 outlines the approach used to identify species in greatest need of conservation while Chapter 6 provides information about species abundance and distribution and identifies threats and proposed conservation actions for those species. Priority habitats and their condition are identified in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 describes problems, threats, and conservation actions for those habitats. Chapter 9 discusses plans for monitoring conservation success through identifying measures and then tracking our effectiveness and ability to adapt to changing conditions. Finally, Chapter 10 describes the proposed process for biennial plan review. III Utah Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy – Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................II TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................. IV LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................VII LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF APPENDICES................................................................................................... IX CHAPTER 1 . INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE.......................................................1-1 PURPOSE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STRATEGY.................................................................................................................1-1 OVERVIEW OF UTAH..............................................................................................1-1 Utah’s CWCS...........................................................................................................1-2 REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF CWCS.........................................................................1-3 STRUCTURE OF THE CWCS...................................................................................1-4 CHAPTER 2 . PUBLIC AND PARTNER INVOLVEMENT ........................................2-1 PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS .......................................................................2-1 LEGISLATED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION...............................................................2-2 Regional Advisory Councils and Utah Wildlife Board Processes...........................2-2 Utah’s designation of State Species of Concern process.........................................2-3 OTHER CITIZEN PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES ........................................2-3 CHAPTER 3 . COORDINATING CWCS EFFORTS WITH MANAGEMENT AGENCIES......................................................................................................................3-1