District of Columbia Wildlife Action Plan 2006 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Department of the Environment Fisheries and Wildlife Division 51 N Street, N.E., 5th floor Washington, DC 20002 DISTRICT OF C OLUMBIA’ S W ILDLIFE ACTION P LAN Prepared by Mary Pfaffko, Wildlife Biologist and the Internal Group of the Fisheries and Wildlife Division, under the supervision of Ira Palmer, Program Manager (1987-2005) Fisheries and Wildlife Division. 2 DISTRICT OF C OLUMBIA’ S W ILDLIFE ACTION P LAN Table of Contents Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 7 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... 8 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 9 Goals, Approach & Value ............................................................................................ 9 Legislative Mandate and Guidance........................................................................... 10 Background on the DC Fisheries and Wildlife Division.......................................... 14 Problem and Need....................................................................................................... 15 Threats ......................................................................................................................... 16 Conservation Legislation and Partners .................................................................... 17 Existing Conservation Legislation............................................................................ 17 Key Conservation Partners........................................................................................ 18 Overview........................................................................................................................... 21 Organization and Format of the Wildlife Action Plan (WAP) ............................... 21 Roadmap to the 8 Required Elements............................................................................. 23 Chapter 1 – Approach...................................................................................................... 28 Timeline........................................................................................................................ 28 WAP Development Process........................................................................................ 30 Roles and Groups...................................................................................................... 30 Public Involvement Summary ................................................................................... 32 Educators and Students ............................................................................................. 32 Conservation NGOs.................................................................................................. 32 General Public........................................................................................................... 32 Selecting and Ranking Species................................................................................... 33 Selection Criteria....................................................................................................... 33 Prioritization Process ................................................................................................ 34 Selecting and Ranking Habitats ................................................................................ 35 Selecting and Ranking Threats.................................................................................. 36 Programmatic Challenges.......................................................................................... 36 Chapter 2 – District Overview.......................................................................................... 38 Ecoregions .................................................................................................................... 38 Land Use...................................................................................................................... 42 Regional Context......................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 3 – Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their Habitats....................... 44 3 DISTRICT OF C OLUMBIA’ S W ILDLIFE ACTION P LAN Species of Greatest Conservation Need..................................................................... 44 Birds.......................................................................................................................... 45 Mammals................................................................................................................... 46 Reptiles...................................................................................................................... 46 Amphibians ............................................................................................................... 47 Fish............................................................................................................................ 47 Invertebrates.............................................................................................................. 48 Status and Trend......................................................................................................... 49 Habitat Types and Conditions ................................................................................... 55 Terrestrial Habitats.................................................................................................... 58 Aquatic Habitats........................................................................................................ 61 Priority Habitat Locations ......................................................................................... 67 Terrestrial Habitats.................................................................................................... 67 Aquatic Habitats........................................................................................................ 68 Chapter 4 - Threats.......................................................................................................... 70 Threat Prioritization................................................................................................... 70 National, International and Global Threats............................................................. 70 Global........................................................................................................................ 70 International.............................................................................................................. 71 National..................................................................................................................... 71 Threat Tables............................................................................................................... 71 The Top Five Threats ................................................................................................. 75 Terrestrial Habitats.................................................................................................... 75 Aquatic Habitats........................................................................................................ 76 Additional Threats Prioritized................................................................................... 77 Terrestrial.................................................................................................................. 77 Aquatic...................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 5 – Conservation Actions – Habitats................................................................. 81 Overarching Actions ................................................................................................... 81 Conservation Actions by Habitat .............................................................................. 83 Habitat 1 – Rivers and Streams................................................................................. 85 Habitat 2 – Hardwood Forests .................................................................................. 89 Habitat 3 – Emergent Non-tidal Wetlands................................................................ 93 Habitat 4 – Grasslands/Managed Meadows.............................................................. 96 Habitat 5 – Forested Wetlands / Riparian Woodlands / Floodplains ...................... 100 Habitat 6 – Early Successional / Shrub-Scrub / Edge ............................................. 104 Habitat 7 – Emergent Tidal Wetlands..................................................................... 107 Habitat 8 – Urban Landscape.................................................................................. 110 Habitat 9 – Tidal Mudflats...................................................................................... 113 Habitat 10 – Springs and Seeps .............................................................................. 116 Habitat 11 – Submerged Aquatic Vegetation......................................................... 120 Habitat 12 – Vernal Pools ....................................................................................... 123 4 DISTRICT OF C OLUMBIA’ S W ILDLIFE ACTION P LAN Habitat 13 – Ponds