The 2012 Revision of Nevada’s Wildlife Action Plan State Wildlife Action Plan Workshop – June 5,...
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The 2012 Revision of Nevada’s Wildlife Action Plan State Wildlife Action Plan Workshop – June 5, 2013 Jon C. Sjöberg Chief of Fisheries Nevada Department
The 2012 Revision of Nevadas Wildlife Action Plan State
Wildlife Action Plan Workshop June 5, 2013 Jon C. Sjberg Chief of
Fisheries Nevada Department of Wildlife Big Spring, Lockes Ranch
Railroad Valley, Nevada
Slide 2
Overview The first Nevada WAP was approved by USFWS in December
2005 264 species of conservation priority (SOCPs) Planning approach
based on 27 key terrestrial and aquatic habitats, associated SOCPs
Partner based implementation utilizing existing partnerships and
planning efforts to the extent practical
Slide 3
Overview Among the 50 states, Nevada is ranked 11 th in overall
biological diversity and 5 th in the number of species extinctions.
Nevadas diversity is derived from its geography; many mountain
ranges are effectively isolated by arid and treeless basins. Nevada
is uniquely challenged in part because of its arid climate,
geography and limited water resources, which has created a unique
endemic biota easily subject to threats and stressors including
changing climate.
Slide 4
Plan revision The conservation partner planning team revised
Nevada's Wildlife Action Plan to incorporate the potential impacts
of emerging and expanding stressors including accelerated energy
development, invasive species, and climate change on Nevada s fish,
wildlife, and habitats. By identifying key conservation actions,
Nevada is in a stronger position to ensure ecosystem resiliency
across the changing landscape for key habitats and species.
Slide 5
WAP Revision Partnership NDOW partnered with The Nature
Conservancy (TNC), the Nevada Natural Heritage Program (NNHP),
Lahontan Audubon Society (LAS), and the Great Basin Bird
Observatory (GBBO) to develop the plan revision. The partnership
team was awarded a State Lands Question 1 Habitat Conservation
Planning Grant in order to help fund these efforts. Additional team
members included: BLM US Fish and Wildlife Service US Forest
Service Bureau of Reclamation University of Nevada, Reno
Slide 6
Changing Climate in Nevada - Assumptions Great Basin wetlands
are important habitat for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds,
wading birds and waterfowl. Climate change could make Nevadas
hydrological cycle even more unpredictable, putting additional
stress on these wetland ecosystems. Isolated aquatic systems
supporting rare endemic fishes and invertebrates, already under
stress from alteration and groundwater development, will be further
impacted by expected changes in temperature and precipitation
regimes.
Slide 7
Changing Climate in Nevada - Assumptions Reduced snowpack and
increasing temperatures in alpine communities may impact species
such as American pika and Black Rosy-Finch. The degree to which
Nevada will be subject to invasive species that threaten wildlife
and habitats is also increasing. Changes in wildfire frequency and
precipitation/temperature patterns will increase vulnerability of
terrestrial and aquatic habitats to invasive nonnative plants and
aquatic invasive species.
Slide 8
Key steps in the Nevada WAP Revision Climate Change
Vulnerability Assessment NNHP Modeling climate change effects on
the future condition of ecological systems TNC Modeling bird
population change in response to projected habitat changes GBBO
Aquatic species and key aquatic habitats analysis NDOW AFWA/USFWS
Wildlife Action Plan Climate Change Revision guidance provided
direction for plan revisions
Slide 9
WAP Revision Process GBBO Bird Analysis NDOW Critter Analysis
NDOW Aquatic Species Analysis
Slide 10
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Climate Change
Vulnerability Assessments were completed for all Species of
Conservation Priority NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability
Index (CCVI) methodology Predicts whether a species will decline,
remain stable, or increase within the assessment area Identifies
the factors contributing to vulnerability Developed by Nevada
Natural Heritage Program Initial CCVI assessments completed by NNHP
biologists Expert workshops provided feedback to incorporate into
assessments
Slide 11
How Does the CCVI Work? Exposure Sensitivity Vulnerability
Score Documented/Modeled Response Vulnerability Index Score
Extremely Vulnerable Highly Vulnerable Moderately Vulnerable Not
Vulnerable/Presumed Stable Not Vulnerable/Increase Likely
Insufficient Evidence Possible Outcomes:
Slide 12
Tabular results by species Vulnerability score by Taxonomic
group
Slide 13
States-and-transition modeling of key terrestrial ecosystems
The Nature Conservancy developed ecological models predicting the
relative risk of Nevadas key wildlife habitats to the projected
impacts of climate change. Landscape Conservation Forecasting
methodology Results were provided in the report, Climate Change
Revision to Nevadas Wildlife Action Plan: Vegetation Mapping and
Modeling.
Slide 14
14 phytogeographic regions Maps of potential and current
vegetation were obtained from remotely- sensed imagery (LANDFIRE)
State-and-transition computer modeling of alternative management
scenarios (e.g. without and with climate change effects) was
applied to each ecological system in the mapped landscape
Slide 15
Schematic of the Landscape Conservation Forecasting. Legend:
NRV = Natural Range of Variability is the reference condition.
Ecological systems are potential vegetation types.
Slide 16
Significant Increases In Ecological Departure from reference
condition
Slide 17
Significant Decreases In Ecological Departure from reference
condition
Slide 18
Avian climate change response modeling GBBO modeled bird
population change in response to projected habitat changes in
Nevada. Used point-count data from the Nevada Bird Count for avian
SOCPs Statistically-rigorous 10-year database with georeferencing
and coarse-scale habitat association capability Avian SOCP
occurrences were geospatially attached to the LANDFIRE
vegetation/habitat mapping developed by TNC Avian species responses
were predicted using the projected changes in key habitats from the
TNC state- and-transition modeling analysis
Slide 19
Avian climate change response modeling Results were provided in
the report, Bird Population Responses to Projected Effects of
Climate Change in Nevada: An Analysis for Revision of the Nevada
Wildlife Action Plan.
Slide 20
Aquatic species and habitats analysis No existing aquatic
climate change effects models could be identified that were:
Applicable at a useful scale Adaptable to the broad spectrum of
Nevadas aquatic habitats and statewide differences in likely
climate effects Heritage CCVI analysis provided useful inputs at
species effect level TNC ecosystem modeling identified associated
changes in applicable terrestrial key habitat types (riparian
habitat changes, fire frequency, etc.) Available inputs dictated a
coarse filter approach Virgin River near Mesquite, Nevada
Slide 21
Aquatic species and habitats analysis Analysis was based on
8-digit HUC watersheds with presence of aquatic SOCPs Climate
Wizard tools used to assess predicted change in temperature and
precipitation CW did allow assessment of changes in seasonal
patterns at some level Findings had to be manually interpreted to
deductively infer predicted effects to aquatic habitats and species
For some systems/species recent peer review literature was
available to provide additional guidance on predicted future
effects (e.g. native salmonids)
Slide 22
Revising the Wildlife Action Plan Once the analytical products
were completed, the Revision Team identified seven major tasks to
complete the WAP revision: Revision of the Species of Conservation
Priority List Revision of the ecological framework to fit the new
vegetative analysis Analysis of how ecological system
changes/shifts were likely to impact conditions and survival
potential for priority species The construction of conservation
strategies to maximize the preservation of wildlife diversity
within state boundaries Revision of the Focal Area analysis
Revision of the Implementation and Adaptive Management Framework
Revision of the Wildlife Action Plan itself incorporating
partner/stakeholder participation and review
Slide 23
Species of Conservation Priority The 2005 SOCP list was
retained but revised using CCVI and other inputs Principle
conclusions from the CCVI analysis: much greater concern toward
isolated endemic aquatic species with small population sizes,
limited mobility and an immitigable dependency on water in nature
Terrestrial vertebrates for the most part exhibited relatively
strong adaptability to the nature and degree of climate change
being predicted Since very few birds ranked CCVI scores above
presumed stable, additions to the list were made based on the
severity of decline as reported by the USGS Breeding Bird Survey,
or where specific management issues were anticipated to direct
agency priority and resources.
Slide 24
Species of Conservation Priority 2005-2012 direct comparisons
are difficult but 5 fish species were elevated and added to the
revised SOCP list Two amphibian species added to the revised SOCP
list For avian species, terrestrial mammals and reptiles total SOCP
actually decreased based on CCVI, habitat analysis and other
factors although new species were added in all categories. SOCP
total was similar (256 v 264) due to inclusion of additional
gastropods and other aquatics
Slide 25
Addressing Conservation Strategies The strategies, activities,
treatments, prescriptions, programs, and initiatives were often
unchanged from the 2005 Plan for SCOP retained on the priority list
New species sometimes required new creative thinking, but often
could be grouped with a species or set of species already
prioritized by the Plan
Slide 26
Addressing Conservation Strategies Where ecological departure
of an ecological system was of major concern and had been
quantified for the 50-year period of analysis, objectives aimed at
reversing, stabilizing, or minimizing the rate of ecological
departure of the ecological system were developed for the immediate
10-year period following plan revision
Slide 27
Addressing Conservation Strategies A general finding of the
climate change projections was that often the first 10-year period
(that relevant to this revision) would witness the least increment
of change toward the 50- year projected outcome. Setting up the
monitoring framework to measure climate change effects was often a
higher need during this first 10- year period
Slide 28
Addressing Conservation Strategies For aquatic systems,
potential climate change effects were frequently modifiers that
just amplify the impacts of existing threats. In many cased climate
inputs didnt substantially alter existing proposed strategies and
actions They did emphasize the importance of strategies to increase
resiliency of aquatic systems to future effects
Slide 29
Lessons learned Having the same Revision Team partners as the
original plan (TNC, NNHP, Audubon and GGBO) was very beneficial All
partners knew the original plan and purpose well and could hit the
ground running for the plan revision. Adding new federal partners
that NDOW works with day to day (BLM, FS, BOR, FWS) to the Revision
Team was a major benefit This greatly helped to incorporate all
Nevada natural resource agency needs, initiatives and planning
efforts into the plan.
Slide 30
Lessons learned Beyond climate change, plan revision allowed
additional focus on other new and emerging stressors such as
accelerated energy development, aquatic and terrestrial invasive
species, wildlife disease, etc. As the revision developed, a key
strategy across habitat types became building resiliency for
species and habitats by reducing non-climate stressors.
Slide 31
Lessons learned Off the shelf models and assessment tools to
adequately assess climate change effects on Nevadas aquatic
habitats and species were simply not available This should have
been identified earlier in the revision process so funding and a
strategy to develop these tools could be incorporated. Aquatic
analysis was an in-house effort which could be improved
Slide 32
Lessons learned Our plan revision was nearly completed when the
Best Practices for State Wildlife Action Plans and the National
Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaption Strategy were published.
Availability of earlier drafts of those documents allowed
incorporation of many of the recommendations into the revised
WAP.