Inyo County
Water Department

TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM # 5
OUTLINE OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN FOR CONSERVATION OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES

prepared for
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
and
Inyo County Water Department  

prepared by
Darrell Deppert,
and
William S. Platts,
Ecosystem Sciences  

TABLE OF CONTENTS


  ABOUT TECHNICAL MEMORANDUMS Technical memorandums are intended as information/data analysis of specific components in the Lower Owens River ecosystem management planning process. Ultimately, the individual environmental components described in tech memos will be used to build the final management plans for the Lower Owens River Project. Comments, questions, and suggestions on tech memos are encouraged; however, tech memos will not be revised. Criticisms, comments, suggestions, or recommendations which improve analysis or alter a decision on an environmental component will be incorporated into the draft management plans. These plans will in turn be subject to public review and subsequent revision leading to final plans.

     

 
Introduction

This technical memorandum describes the preliminary goals, objectives and scope of a threatened and endangered species conservation or T & E plan for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) lands of the Lower Owens River Project area. This document is made up of technical outputs under activity V (A) as described in the revised August 1997 technical work program for the Lower Owens River Ecosystem Management Plan. Also included in this technical document is the plan outline. It is important to note that the goals, objectives, and scope of the plan described here are preliminary and may require modifications after review and discussion by the parties concerned.

Overview

A primary goal of the Lower Owens River Project (LORP) is to establish an ecologically healthy, functioning Lower Owens River ecosystem. Development of a plan for indigenous threatened and endangered (T & E) species of fish, wildlife and plants, forms a part of the overall goal of the project to benefit biodiversity and comply with federal and state laws. The T & E plan will focus on the occurrence, distribution and habitat requirements of the federally listed species, as well as for selected federal and state species of concern. To ensure that the plan is not in conflict with the habitat requirements of other species of the planning area, information on candidate species of concern in addition to the federal T & E species will be incorporated.

To the extent possible the T & E plan will provide for potential future linkages and corridors between critical habitats in the planning area, ensuring habitat continuity. The T & E plan will be integrated with the other LORP plans, particularly the land management plan. The preliminary plan will identify conservation areas primarily within the LORP planning area, but will also give consideration if necessary to important areas where these T & E species occur outside of the LORP area. Equally important will be the integration of the plan with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Multi-Species Recovery Plan for the Owens Valley, and of course working closely with the Service to ensure the maximum benefit to the species considered through a collaborative effort.

Purpose

The T & E plan for the LORP will investigate and describe the biological needs of the federally listed species and many of the federal and state species of concern that reside or potentially reside in the LORP area. The plan will recommend adaptive management approaches that contain measurable criteria for the attainment of success under the T & E plan and in turn the overall management plan of LORP. Measures developed and presented in the T & E plan will be incorporated into the overall Lower Owens River Management Plan.

As the nature of the activity under the LORP is one of habitat enhancement, there should be benefits that accrue to T & E’s rather than "take". LORP implementation should have positive benefits to the habitat of many of the listed species. The T & E plan’s purpose is to best direct habitat development efforts so as to promote recovery of those T & E species within the plan area. The LORP, however, is also intended to improve habitat for recreationally important and other species (eg., largemouth and smallmouth bass) in addition to T & E species. For this reason, the habitat requirements and the potential effects of resource changes resulting from the LORP will be assessed to determine the affect of such actions on T & E species.

The process to be recommended under the T & E plan and in the overall LORP management plan will be one that promotes endangered species conservation and habitat preservation within the framework of land use and development. By coordinating these plans, the LORP can contribute to the long-term conservation of T & E species while at the same time provide opportunities for recreation. The T & E species plan will be an integral part of the planning process of the Lower Owens River Project.

Goals and Objectives

The goals of the T & E plan are to: promote species recovery in collaboration with the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services planned species recovery efforts; provide a flexible plan for management of the land and water resources; contribute in a meaningful and beneficial way to the habitat restoration for T&E species; and provide habitat conditions for conserving the ecosystem upon which T & E species depend in the Lower Owens River planning area.

The objectives of the T & E species plan are to:

Scope of the Plan

The critical tasks under the T & E species conservation plan are:

Because the proposed activities listed in the LORP are not designed to consume resources but rather create new resources, the impacts of the LORP (on T & E habitat) as mentioned earlier should be positive. Habitat for listed and unlisted species should increase with the implementation of the project. What will be important is to design within the T & E plan the best possible ecosystem enhancement programs for the T & E species within the context of the broad planning objectives of LORP.

The existing data on each T & E species will be compiled. Surveys will be conducted where

insufficient information is available and findings and recommendations from the plan exercise will be integrated with the LORP management and monitoring plans.

lorp_tm5_fig1.tif (66580 bytes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Planning Area

The plan area will be limited to (except for specific habitats important to the recovery of certain T & E’s as discussed below) those LADWP lands of the LORP as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Los Angeles, the County of Inyo, the California Dept. of Fish and Game, the State Lands Commision, the Sierra Club, and the Owens Valley Committee. The LORP plan area includes all LADWP land from the aqueduct intake to Owens Dry Lake (See figure 1).

The plan may consider and include essential species recovery habitat located outside of the LORP planning area where necessary. Example locations outside the LORP plan area would be areas such as Fish Slough and Warm Springs. These areas represent important existing recovery habitat for the Owens pupfish and will influence the availability of pupfish for reintroduction into the LORP area. Another example are the springs and seeps outside of the LORP planning area. Some outside areas may be recommended as initial refuge habitat for species such as the Owens pupfish and the Owens tui chub to support their recovery.

Conservation or recovery areas within the LORP planning area will be to the extent possible connected with large areas of suitable habitat which should allow the species in question opportunities to recover and expand under the project.

Land Use Characteristics

The primary land uses in the Owens Valley are recreation, ranching and domestic water sources. The majority of the valley floor is used as irrigated and non-irrigated grazing land for cattle, with irrigated fields for alfalfa production occurring on small portions of the valley floor. The land use policies of LADWP are to allow non-polluting agriculture and the raising of cattle, sheep and horses. Other uses which are permitted on LADWP lands are recreational such as fishing, hunting, hiking, and horseback riding.

Multi-species Considerations

In addition to addressing ecological needs of federally listed species, the T & E plan will serve as the basis for an overall adaptive ecosystem development approach promoting species conservation and habitat protection for as yet unlisted species of concern. By considering habitat requirements of unlisted species, the plan can provide for early protection and possibly prevent future listing (due to habitat decline) of current species of concern.

The plan, through the use of an adaptive ecosystem management approach, will recommend the maintenance of a variety of habitats on a landscape basis. The plan will become a comprehensive planning document for a wide variety of resident plant and animal species. Through prudent conservation planning in advance, species not as yet listed federally can be kept from being listed by the development of critical habitat favorable for those species. The species proposed for inclusion in the plan are as follows. "Permit Species" are those currently listed as endangered by the federal government. "Species of Concern" are those that have a federal government "Species of Concern" status (previously category 1 or 2 candidates for listing) and are generally taxa which should be given consideration during the planning of projects. Also listed below as species of concern are those special status species having the California "Species of special concern" (CSC) status.

Permit Species Within the Plan Area (Section 10(a))

Species of Concern Within the Plan Area

Collection of Data

Most of the data required for the completion of the T & E plan for the LORP will be acquired from the already extensive data repositories and from existing knowledge about the location and status of many of the species mentioned above. In addition there will be a need to conduct additional plant surveys within the project area and additional work to determine the status of the Owens Valley vole. Surveys may also be required for springsnails to determine their status within the planning area. The surveys and additional data gathering will be coordinated with the seeps and springs and land management activities under the LORP.

Siting and development of future conservation areas and recovery sites for species such as the Owens pupfish and Owens tui chub will continue. Selection of some sites will be based on the suitability of the habitat, proximity to and connectivity with the main river system.

 
Proposed Report Outline  

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. THE PLANNING CONTEXT (VOLUME I)

II. THE PLAN (VOLUME II)

TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENTS
 
        Important Issues Documents
        Ecological Classification Document
        Other Information and Data