An Overview of the West Region

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An Overview of the West Region

• State of the Network Challenges and
  Accomplishments of 18 Programs

Sabra Schwartz, US Section Chair NatureServe West
Region Conference, April 15, 2008 Tahoe City, CA
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• 7 programs in Universities
• 11 in State/Provincial Government
• Staff size varies from 5-25 (total of 219) with
  average of 12

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Why the West is the Best

• Highest land area
• Highest range of temperature and precipitation
• Highest elevational range tallest peak, lowest
  point
• Highest biodiversity
• Least amount of private land
• Highest ratio US Council reps/program (0.23 v
  0.14)

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Common Challenges

• Funding soft funds, match
• Housing being evicted
• ArcGIS, Observations, and Biotics, oh my!
• Capacity loss of staff vs. growth (satellite
  offices) work smarter
• Data gaps vegetation (edge matching), aquatic
  data, ecological mapping
• Smart growth planning energy, transportation,
  development, WL corridors

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Alaska Natural Heritage ProgramEnvironment and
Natural Resources InstituteUniversity of Alaska
Anchorage
Collecting rare species (Mertensia drummondii )
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NatureServe Yukon

• Established 2002
• Joint program of Environment Yukon and
  Canadian Wildlife Service
• Other partners include Parks Canada Agency and
  Nature Conservancy of Canada
• Work with 15 aboriginal self-governments

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NatureServe Yukon

• A/Manager Tom Jung
• Zoologist Syd Cannings
• Botanist Jennifer Line
• Data Manager being hired

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NatureServe Yukon

• Inventories 2006-2007
• Beaufort Sea coastal rare plants
• Beaver Creek wetlands Beringia and Great
  Plains relicts
• Dunes rare plants and insects
• Asi Keyi Park life on volcanic ash-coated
  glaciers
• Beringian endemics (plants and Lepidoptera) of
  the Ogilvie Mountains
• Alaska Marmots in northwestern mountains

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NatureServe Yukon

• Accomplishments 2004-07
• 39 new native plant spp. on Yukon list
• 10 new exotic plant species discovered
• Draba yukonensis rediscovered
• 7 new native plant species to Canada
• 1 new to science (Botrychium n. sp.)
• 7 dragonflies added to Yukon list
• 2 tiger beetles added
• 1 butterfly sp. and 2 ssp. added
• 1 moth sp. added
• 3 mammals added
• Anodonta beringiana, Yukons only fresh water
  mussel, first documented for Canada

Draba yukonensis G1S1
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NatureServe Yukon

• Accomplishments 2004-07
• 2 new populations of Carex sabulosa (a
  federally-listed plant species) found all
  populations mapped in detail

Photo Jennifer Line
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NatureServe Yukon

• Ranking
• Vertebrates, vascular plants, tiger beetles,
  butterflies, dragonflies, mussels ranked
• Now ranking
• Mosses
• Ground beetles
• Diving beetles
• Spiders
• Black flies
• Mosquitoes
• Horse flies

Photo Henri Goulet
Carabus vietinghoffii
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British Columbia CDC

• Part of BC Ministry of Environment
• gt 15 years in business
• Staff 3 Ecologists 3 Botanists 3
  Zoologists 2.5 Data Management Coordinator
  position

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Exciting News!

• The British Columbia Conservation Data Centre
  has been named the top conservation data centre
  in the Western Hemisphere for 2007 Received
  the Conservation Impact Award from NatureServe.

• BC now has a provincial conservation framework
  for species ecosystems. The CDCs conservation
  status-ranking system is an integral part of this
  framework. The CDC provides critical inputs that
  help set conservation priorities.

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How we help on the ground

• Occurrences for species that are part of the
  Wildlife Amendment Act regulation are now
  included in the Integrated Land Registry (2007).
  This means occurrence information is in a data
  warehouse, available through the resource
  registry and part of the procedures for tenure
  applications.

• BC Hydro Information-sharing agreement signed
  (2007) to provide real-time access to information
  on species-at-risk. The companys field trucks
  will have computers that show GPS-referenced maps.

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Distributing Data to Clients

• Access through our BC Species Ecosystem
  Explorer. Enhancements made each year mosses,
  lichens tiger beetles lists added as well as
  improved search capabilities
• We also have an Internet Mapping Tool

• http//www.env.gov.bc.ca/atrisk/toolintro.html

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At the root of it all

• Update create over 1000 species occurrence
  records each year
• Revised the Grassland Classification Elements for
  BC and completed the Okanagan Sensitive Ecosystem
  Conservation manual
• And, we still manage to get out in the field at
  least enough to keep our feet wet!

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Washington Natural Heritage Program
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Staff
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Accomplishments

• Three potential new natural areas identified
• Lacamas Prairie
• Trombetta Canyon
• Wanapum

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Accomplishments

• Twelve natural areas expanded (totaling 6,200
  acres)

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Accomplishments

• Partnered with UW to train and use volunteers for
  rare plant EO revisits (gt190 EOs/year)

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Accomplishments

• Shrub-steppe inventory
• Sand dune classification
• Striped Whipsnake conservation work

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Washington NHP Projects

• Inventory of 400,000 acres of shrub-steppe on
  state lands
• Application of NH methodology to identification
  of Important Bird Areas
• LandScope America
• Northwest ReGAP
• On-going interaction with Washington Biodiversity
  Council
• 1.3 zillion other projects

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Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center
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Status and Trends

• 11 staff, although only 6.5 FTE seasonals
• Partnerships staff sharing with TNC
  (AmeriCorps/IT) TWC (wetlands)
• Heritage Program becoming Natural Areas Program
  transferred to Parks from Lands
• Our office (ORNHIC) may be moved to PSU, or we
  may be homeless
• Expanding Grants for vegetation mapping, modeling
  and web portal development limited Biotics funds

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Current Projects

• Vegetation Mapping in Oregon, Washington, Idaho
  and northern California _at_ various scales
• Work on Northwest ReGAP wildlife modeling
  TNC/IMAP/VDDT Wildlife Modeling
• Major wetlands project, including data
  development, conservation planning tools
• EPA Biodiversity Exchange Network, tied to web
  portal development (Oregon Explorer
  http//oregonexplorer.info/wildlife)
• Continued work on Snowy Plover conservation

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The California Natural Diversity Databaseis a
unit within the Biogeographic Data Branch

• Staffing
• 10 people directly involved with maintaining the
  CNDDB
• 10 people involved with vegetation mapping
• 20 others doing GIS and other data development
  activities

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Number of EOs added or Updated each month and
total number of EOs in the CNDDB

• 2004 464/month
• 2005 491/month
• 2006 425/month
• 2007 494/month

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Working on backlog for rare species
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CNDDB Subscribers

• We currently have over 400 organizations
  subscribing to RareFind.
• This represents thousands of individual users on
  a daily basis, in addition to data made available
  to for free to the general public.

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www.bios.dfg.ca.gov
The CNDDB is also available to subscribers on the
internet through an Arc IMS application, BIOS.
The CNDDB data can be viewed with over 300 other
data layers such as designated Critical Habitats,
fire perimeters, vegetation and other species
observation layers.
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We are moving away from an installed application
(RareFind) and toward a web-based CNDDB query,
mapping and reporting tool.
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• Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre

Literally buried by work
Communication barrier, eh?
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Fighting militia? Saskatchewan Army
Too remote?
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Highlights2008 Western Regional Conference

• Operating contract
• - transferred from TNC to University of
  Montana, June 06
• - remains a statutory program of Montana
  State Library
• Funding 50 Increase in Legislative budget -
  From 300k to 450k / yr
• - comprises about 40 of overall budget
• New Field Guide and Tracker Websites
• Staff 26 (includes 6 at the Spatial Analysis
  Lab-UM campus)

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• Public access species observations at coarse
  grid-scale - Quarter-quarter degree of lat-long
• Partner access (agency biologists) detailed
  observation and occurrence data -- spatial and
  tabular
• Map-based data submission for all registered
  users
• Graphic summaries of observations by year month

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Tracker Box Scores

• Registered users Over 800
• User-hours logged since 7/07 Nearly 3000
• (half anonymous general public)
• New observations submitted Over 2500
• Top Users USFS, MT-FWP,
• MT Bird Records
  Committee

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New Field Guides Website
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Field Guide Enhancements

• Merged with MT-FWP Field Guide
• Improved look and performance
• Includes all MT vascular plants
• Invertebrates added
• Links to Tracker for observation data
• Google searches for info and images

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WYOMING NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE University of
Wyoming
NW ReGAP - mapping range, distribution, and
habitat quality for 691 vertebrates, in co-op
with MT, ID, OR, and WA programs Coordinating
with Wyo. Game and Fish Dept. wildlife
observation database WYNDD has added 125,000
vertebrate observation records to Biotics in
last 2 months! Mountain pine beetle epidemic
exploring monitoring projects w/ USFS maybe our
first foray into climate change research?
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WYOMING NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE University of
Wyoming
ZOOLOGY Doug Keinath, Lead Zoologist
Inventory and monitoring of TE taxa, plus others
desperately trying to become T or E Species
review and modeling for NW ReGAP Distribution
modeling for several taxa Completed conservation
assessments for several taxa
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WYOMING NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE University of
Wyoming
BOTANY Bonnie Heidel, Lead Botanist
Inventory and monitoring of TE taxa, plus others
desperately trying to become T or E Inventory
and mapping of boreal peatlands Informational
posters and fliers for TE plants Completed
conservation assessments for several taxa
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WYOMING NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE University of
Wyoming
VEGETATION ECOLOGY George Jones, Lead Ecologist
Landcover mapping consultations for NW ReGAP All
things sagebrush response to fire, growth and
climate, ecological integrity Studying aspen
in cold desert environments Ecological integrity
of basin wetlands (in coop with MT and CO)
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Idaho Conservation Data Center Today
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IDCDC Affiliations
 
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Idaho Conservation Data Center
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New Activities

• SQL Server (not Biotics)
• ARCMAP 9.2
• Abundance and distribution data model (Not EO)
• Species inventories and long-term monitoring
• DNA analysis
• Predictive distribution modeling
• Occupancy modeling
• Distance sampling
• Conservation planning
• Modified VISTA modeling
• BLM resource management planning
• USFS forest planning
• CWCS/State Action Plans
• Idaho Plant Conservation Strategy
• State Wetlands Strategy

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Idaho Natural Heretic Program Tomorrow
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IdahoVirtual NHP?
Science
Information and Technology Bureau

Information Program
Science
Information Management
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Nevada Natural Heritage Program
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Administrator Jennifer Newmark Botanist James
Morefield Biologist Ali Chaney Data Manager
Eric Miskow Wetland Ecologist Janel
Johnson Wetland Planner Ed Skudlarek State Weed
Mapper Kim Williams Office Manager Desirae
Munns
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Nevada Natural Heritage Scorecard 2006
Highest Priority Conservation Sites
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Springs Conservation Project
Over 300 springs will be surveyed in the next two
years and a comprehensive conservation plan
written.
A partnership between Nevada Natural Heritage,
The Nature Conservancy, and the Desert Research
Institute
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Mapping Weeds in the State of Nevada
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Utah Natural Heritage Program

• Plants
• Penstemon grahamii (Grahams Beardtongue) surveys
  continue in 2008
• Begin surveys in the west desert of Utah on G1
  and G2 plants (funded by TNC and NFWF)
• Begin surveys for Astragalus desereticus (Deseret
  Milkvetch)
• Critters
• Batbase (web-based database tool) built by DoD
  Legacy Program has added 19,000 new source
  features to UNHP

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Utah Natural Heritage Program

• EPA Environmental Information Exchange Network
  (EIEN) Grant
• Partnered with NatureServe to ensure our new
  geodatabase will be compatible with upcoming
  Biotics upgrades
• New geodatabase currently being designed will
  include
• Web-based access for data entry from our
  biologists (QA/QC by our program)
• Geodatabase will utilize the latest GIS software
• Possible real-time data transfers to NatureServe
• On-line Environmental Analysis Tool (similar to
  Arizona)

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Navajo Natural Heritage Program
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Raptor Electrocution Prevention Policy

• Navajo Natural Heritage Program Navajo Nation
  Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) - David Mikesic,
  Zoologist
• Cooperation by Navajo Tribal Utility Authority -
  Bernice Tsosie, Right-of-Way Agent
• to reduce likelihood of raptor electrocutions
• by enforcing raptor-safe power pole design
  standards for new power line construction
• within Raptor Sensitive Areas
• for three raptor species-of-concern (Golden
  Eagle, Bald Eagle, and Ferruginous Hawk)

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Golden Bald Eagle Nest Protection Policy
The purpose of the Policy is to protect all
Golden and Bald Eagle nests on The Navajo Nation,
and the Eagles nesting within them, from human
activities and developments within close
proximity.
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Restrictions for Active Nests during the
Nesting Season (1 Feb.-15 July)

• 600 m no brief activities
• 800 m no light activities
• 1000 m no heavy
  long-term activities
• 1200 m no loud activities

Throughout Year

• no infrequent-use, permanent structures within
  600 m of eagle nest
• no frequent-use, permanent structures within 800
  m of eagle nest

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Mesa Verde Cactus Conservation Plan

• NNHP received a USFWS (TLIP) grant in 2003
• Goals
• 1. Prepare a Status Report to determine the
  current status of Mesa Verde Cactus in the
  Shiprock area.
• 2. Develop a Conservation Plan with the goal of
  conserving biologically significant areas for
  Mesa Verde cacti in exchange for highly disturbed
  habitats in the Shiprock area.

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• Four sites totaling 13,287 acres were chosen for
  their proximity to Shiprock, remoteness, quality
  of habitat and existing populations present
  (purple).
• Three Community Development areas were delineated
  surrounding the communities of Shiprock, Hogback
  and Gadiahi, totaling 9,780 acres (pink).

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• The Mesa Verde Cactus Conservation Plan was
  approved by the Shiprock Chapter in June of 2007.
  This represents the first time land has been
  officially set aside for the purpose of
  protecting an endangered species on the Navajo
  Nation.
• NNHP is now working to develop other Conservation
  Plans to preserve high quality biological
  resources on the Navajo Nation into the future.

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Arizonas Heritage Data Management System
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Moved to Utopia

• Address is 5000 W Carefree hwy
• Within Happy Valley
• Near Lake Pleasant

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Online Environmental Review Tool

• Over 2500 projects submitted in the first year
• Customer time from 30 days to average of 7
  minutes
• About 75 of FTE time savings
• Working on enhancements

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Accomplishments
Heloderma suspectum
Rana subaquavocalis

• Diversity Reviews to evaluate SRanks for fish,
  mammals, and herps.
• Meeting data standards
• Created EORanks for 65 of our database
• SProt and LastObs field goals met
• Redigitizing spatial information for Minute
  precision and to meet new representational
  accuracy

G1Q, S1
G4, S4
G3T3, S3
Onchorhynchus apache
Panthera onca
G3, S1
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Other Projects

• Invasive Species Council, technical team
• Arizona Linkages and corridor project
• ACP (Areas of Conservation Priority) species and
  stewardship teams

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Chupacabra
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Natural Heritage New Mexico
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NHNM Ecology Fifty Years of Change in the Desert
Grasslands of Big Bend National Park
1955
2007
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NHNM Zoology Importance of water to conservation
and management of SW willow flycatchers

• Relationship between
• Soil moisture and vegetation type/structure?
• Vegetation and territory choice?
• Vegetation and nesting success?
• Soil moisture and territory choice?
• Soil moisture and nesting success?
• Recommendation
• Management for Empidonax traillii extimus at the
  Pueblo should include inundation of habitat for
  the early part of the nesting season.

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NHNM Botany Endangered plant recovery efforts
Ipomopsis sancti-spiritus
Argemone pleiacantha ssp. pinnatisecta
Growing Argemone pleiacantha ssp. pinnatisecta at
the Rio Grande Botanic Garden creates a living
seed bank and public garden for research,
restoration, and education.
From the single known population of ca. 1500
plants we created 3 experimental populations
totaling gt1000 plants in areas offering better
management options.
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Colorado Natural Heritage Program

• Located at Colorado State University
• Unit of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
  Department within Warner College of Natural
  Resources
• Completely soft-funded with 2 million dollar
  budget
• Over 27,000 mapped locations of species and
  communities of concern
• Nearly 2,000 biological planning boundaries
  (Potential Conservation Areas)
• New Director as of July 1, 2008!
• David Anderson, former Botany Team Leader
• Renee Rondeau, new Conservation Planning Team
  Leader

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Colorado Natural Heritage Program

• Recipient of 2007 NatureServe Scientific
  Advancement Award
• Measuring Colorados Biodiversity Health
  scorecard approach
• Selected as one of 5 pilot states for LandScope
  America project
• Publish annual abstract booklet describing 40
  projects
• Survey of Critical Biological Resources in Rio
  Blanco County
• Energy- and biodiversity-rich area
• Developed on-the-ground relationships with energy
  companies
• Southeast Colorado Inventory
• Colorados largest and most intact,
  privately-owned working landscape
• Working directly with the Colorado Cattlemens
  Agricultural Land Trust and other funders
• Conducting inventory on approximately 800,000
  acres
• Working with nearly 50 ranchers

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Inventory
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Monitoring and Research
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Conservation Planning
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Vegetation Classification, Heritage Methodology,
and Data Exchange