Final Rare Plant Survey Report in Support of the Proposed Fallon Range Training Complex Expansion, Nevada December 2019 Prepared for: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest San Diego, CA Prepared by: ManTech International Corporation Environmental, Range, and Sustainability Services Lompoc and Solana Beach, CA Contract N62742-14-D-1863: Task Orders FZNG and FZNG, Modification 4 Cover Top left: Eastwood milkweed (Asclepias eastwoodiana) (photo by M. Cloud-Hughes, ManTech) Bottom right: Reese River phacelia (Phacelia glaberrima) (photo by M. Cloud-Hughes, ManTech) Rare Plants Survey Report – Proposed FRTC Expansion TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 NATURAL HISTORY ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Great Basin Geologic Context ....................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Survey Area General Vegetation Characteristics .......................................................................... 6 3.0 METHODS .......................................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 Pre-field Data Collection and Review ............................................................................................ 7 3.2 Field Methods ............................................................................................................................. 11 4.0 RESULTS........................................................................................................................................... 12 4.1 Areas Surveyed ........................................................................................................................... 12 4.2 Observed Rare Plant Species ...................................................................................................... 13 4.3 Flora of the Proposed FRTC Expansion Areas ............................................................................. 45 4.4 Invasive Plants ............................................................................................................................. 46 5.0 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................ 51 5.1 Seed Collections .......................................................................................................................... 52 5.2 Additional Herbarium Voucher Collection .................................................................................. 52 5.3 Riparian Restoration ................................................................................................................... 52 5.4 Invasive Plant Species Survey ..................................................................................................... 52 6.0 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 54 Appendices Appendix A: Plant Species List from 2017, 2018, and 2019 Rare Plant Surveys of Proposed FRTC Expansion Areas Appendix B: Herbarium Voucher Database Appendix C: Field Collection Data Fields (Pick Lists) Page i Rare Plants Survey Report – Proposed FRTC Expansion List of Figures Figure 1-1. Regional Location of the Proposed FRTC Expansion Areas ........................................................ 2 Figure 2-1. Nevada Precipitation (October 2016 – October 2017) ............................................................... 5 Figure 2-2. Nevada Precipitation (August 2018 – August 2019) ................................................................... 5 Figure 3-1. Targeted Rare Plant Survey Areas Based on Habitat Preferences ............................................ 10 Figure 4-1. Rare Plant Survey Routes within the Proposed B-16 Expansion Area ...................................... 14 Figure 4-2. Rare Plant Survey Routes within the Proposed B-17 and Southern DVTA Expansion Areas .... 15 Figure 4-3. Rare Plant Survey Routes within the Proposed B-20 Expansion Area ...................................... 16 Figure 4-4. Rare Plant Survey Routes within the Proposed Northern DVTA Expansion Area .................... 17 Figure 4-5. Eastwood Milkweed (Asclepias eastwoodiana) ........................................................................ 18 Figure 4-6. Historical and 2019 Eastwood Milkweed (Asclepias eastwoodiana) and Sodaville Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis) Locations ........................................................... 19 Figure 4-7. Sodaville Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis) ........................................... 20 Figure 4-8. Tonopah Milkvetch with Immature Fruit (top inset) and Flower (bottom inset) ..................... 21 Figure 4-9. Historical, 2017, and 2019 Tonopah Milkvetch (Astragalus pseudiodanthus) Locations ......... 23 Figure 4-10. Nevada Suncup (Eremothera nevadensis) with Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) ............................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 4-11. Historical and 2017 Nevada Suncup (Eremothera nevadensis) Locations .............................. 25 Figure 4-12. Lahontan Basin Buckwheat (whole plant [left] and basal rosette [right]) .............................. 26 Figure 4-13. Floral and Leaf Characters of Lahontan Basin Buckwheat. Involucre (left), dorsal side of leaf (center), and ventral side of leaf (right) ................................................................................... 26 Figure 4-14. Historical, 2017, and 2019 Lahontan Basin Buckwheat (Eriogonum rubricaule) Locations ... 29 Figure 4-15. Sand Cholla (whole plant [left] and flowers with pollinators [right]). .................................... 30 Figure 4-16. Historical, 2017, and 2019 Sand Cholla (Grusonia pulchella) Locations ................................. 33 Figure 4-17. Oryctes (whole plant, flower [upper inset] and fruit [lower inset]) ....................................... 34 Figure 4-18. Historical, 2017, and 2019 Oryctes (Oryctes nevadensis) Locations ...................................... 36 Figure 4-19. Lahontan Beardtongue (Penstemon palmeri var. macranthus) (whole plant [left] and flower [top right]) and Palmer Beardtongue (Penstemon palmeri var. palmeri) (flower [lower right]). ............................................................................................................................ 37 Figure 4-20. Historical, 2017, and 2019 Lahontan Beardtongue (Penstemon palmeri var. macranthus) Locations ................................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 4-21. Reese River Phacelia in Early Bloom (left) and Faded to Purple (right) .................................. 40 Figure 4-22. Historical, 2017, and 2019 Reese River Phacelia (Phacelia glaberrima) Locations ................ 42 Figure 4-23. 2017 Saltmarsh Allocarya (Plagiobothrys salsus) Locations ................................................... 44 Page ii Rare Plants Survey Report – Proposed FRTC Expansion Figure 4-24. Nevada Noxious Plant Species Categories .............................................................................. 47 Figure 4-25. Cheatgrass Infestation in Proposed B-17 Expansion Area ...................................................... 48 Figure 4-26. Tumbleweeds in the Proposed B-17 Expansion Area and along a Road Edge within the Proposed DVTA Expansion Area (inset). ................................................................................... 49 Figure 4-27. Saltcedar along a Fence Line in the Proposed DVTA Expansion Area .................................... 50 Figure 4-28. Russian Olive Encircling Seep Area in the Proposed DVTA Expansion Area ........................... 51 List of Tables Table 1-1. NNHP Rare Plant List for Churchill, Mineral, and Nye Counties, Nevada .................................... 3 Table 3-1. Habitat and Soil Profiles of Target Rare Plant Species ................................................................. 8 Table 3-2. Data Fields Used in the Rare Plant Data Collection Form .......................................................... 11 Table 4-1. Summary of 2017, 2018, and 2019 Survey Efforts ..................................................................... 12 Table 4-2. Survey Miles Completed within Each Proposed Expansion Area .............................................. 13 Table 4-3. Observed Occurrences of Rare Plant Species within the Proposed Expansion Areas during 2017 and 2019 Surveys ............................................................................................................. 13 Table 4-4. 2019 Eastwood Milkweed (Asclepias eastwoodiana) Occurrences within the Proposed B-17 Expansion Area ......................................................................................................................... 18 Table 4-5. 2019 Sodaville Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis) Occurrences within the Proposed B-17 Expansion Area .......................................................................................... 20 Table 4-6. Tonopah Milkvetch (Astragalus pseudiodanthus) Occurrences within the Proposed B-17 Expansion Area ........................................................................................................................