San Luis Valley Regional Habitat Conservation Plan Draft for Public Review

1.0 Project Description and Background 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Purpose and Need 2

1.3 HCP Scope 5

1.4 Goals and Objectives of the HCP 8

1.5 Benefits to the Covered Species 10

1.6 Benefits to the Communities 10

1.7 Description of Applicants and Beneficiaries 11

1.8 Federal Activities 13

1.9 Rationale for 30-year Permit Term 13

1.10 Public Involvement 14

2.0 HCP Setting 16

2.1 Covered Species 16

2.2 Riparian Vegetation Communities 24

2.3 Water Resources and Administration 35

2.4 Socioeconomic Setting 38

2.5 Land Ownership and Management 40

2.6 Existing Local Land Use Policies 45

2.7 Existing Conservation Efforts 45

3.0 Covered Activities and Impacts 54

3.1 Methods and Definitions 54

3.2 Routine Agriculture 57

3.3 Community Infrastructure 69

3.4 Riparian Conservation and Restoration 75

3.5 Impact Contingencies 77

3.6 Related Activities with No Impacts 78

4.0 Summary of Impacts 80

4.1 Summary of Estimated Impacts 80

4.2 Routine Agriculture 81

4.3 Community Infrastructure 82

4.4 Riparian Conservation and Restoration 83

4.5 Relationship of Habitat Impacts to Potential Flycatcher Territories 83

5.0 HCP Implementation 85

5.1 Rationale for this Implementation Approach 85

5.2 Impact Mitigation Tools 87

5.3 Impact and Mitigation Tracking 93

5.4 Core Habitat Conservation 96

5.5 Education and Outreach 96

5.6 HCP Administration 98

5.7 Additional Conservation Measures 101

5.8 Summary of Implementation Responsibilities 103

6.0 Monitoring and Adaptive Management 104

6.1 Monitoring 104

6.2 Adaptive Management 108

7.0 Funding and Implementation 112

7.1 Funding Assurances 112

7.2 Implementation 116

7.3 HCP Participation 117

7.4 Additional Assurances, and Changed or Unforeseen Circumstances 117

7.5 Permit Enforcement, Suspension, and Revocation 121

7.6 Revisions, Substitutions, and Amendments to the HCP 123

8.0 Relationship of HCP to
ESA Requirements and Recovery Plan 125

8.1 Relationship to ESA Permit Issuance Criteria 125

8.2 Relationship to the Flycatcher Recovery Plan 127

9.0 References 131

Table 1. Riparian habitat mapping elements. 33

Table 2. Socioeconomic and demographic statistics in the San Luis Valley. 39

Table 3. Existing habitat totals by land ownership type. 40

Table 4. Existing conservation easements by county (October 2011). 50

Table 5. Existing conservation easements by drainage (October 2011). 52

Table 6. Summary of impacts. 80

Table 7. Anticipated impacts of routine agriculture. 81

Table 8. Anticipated impacts of community infrastructure. 82

Table 9. Anticipated impacts of conservation and restoration. 83

Table 10. HCP implementation measures. 86

Table 11. Mitigation Ratios. 94

Table 12. Sample mitigation tracking worksheet. 95

Table 13. Estimated implementation costs, years 1 – 10. 114

Figure 1. HCP Location 4

Figure 2. Known Flycatcher and Cuckoo Detections 22

Figure 3. Land Cover 26

Figure 4. Core and Buffer Habitat Concept 28

Figure 5. Riparian Habitat 34

Figure 6. Water Resources 37

Figure 7. Land Ownership 41

Figure 8. Land Ownership Detail 42

Figure 9. Existing Conservation Easements 51

Figure 10. Rotating Matrix Concept 55

Figure 11. Impact Analysis Data 56

Figure 12. Alamosa Floodway 72