San Luis Valley Regional Habitat Conservation Plan Draft for Public Review

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6.2Adaptive Management

Adaptive management will be an integral part of this HCP. The U.S. Department of the Interior Adaptive Management Working Group defines adaptive management as “a systematic approach for improving resource management by learning from management outcomes” (Williams et al. 2009). As described above, monitoring under this HCP involves a repeated assessment of habitat for covered species and, where practicable, an assessment of covered species’ abundance and occupancy. The Monitoring Plan described in Section 6.1 will be adaptive to incorporate new protocols and techniques, as appropriate. Based on the results of monitoring, the District and Service will be able to determine how well the implementation measures proposed in this HCP are meeting the biological goals and objectives (see Section 1.4) and mitigation commitments (Section 5), and the steps necessary to modify activities to increase success.

Monitoring Evaluation

Covered species and their habitat will be monitored as described in Section 6.1. Any need for adaptive management will be based on annual reports and data gathered from monitoring and new research as it becomes available.

The results of monitoring will be reviewed annually during the first six years by the steering committee (accounting for two full rounds of parcel-specific monitoring). The steering committee would include a representative from the Service; therefore, coordination with the Service would be ongoing. After the first six years of the permit, the results of monitoring will be reviewed every three years by the steering committee.

After three years, the first round of monitoring data for each location (reference sites and mitigation lands) will be used to establish baseline conditions for monitoring. This first round of monitoring data also will provide the first opportunity to comprehensively evaluate HQI results and develop guidelines for habitat quality levels that are suitable for mitigation (based on overall conditions and a comparison to reference sites). If monitoring in subsequent years indicates that a mitigation area does not meet suitability guidelines, one or more of the following adaptive management procedures will be initiated:

Increase monitoring to determine the cause of the habitat decline, and potential remedies.
Work with landowners to implement management or restoration measures to improve habitat quality (e.g., fencing, irrigation changes, planting, or others).
Remove the parcel/area from the mitigation pool and substitute with another parcel of sufficient size and quality.
Retain the parcel/area in the mitigation pool, but at a reduced credit value (with the credit shortfall replaced by another parcel).

Management or restoration measures to improve habitat quality on mitigation lands will be reevaluated after three years. If, after three years, habitat conditions have failed to improve, the area will no longer be eligible for mitigation credit and will be replaced by additional mitigation lands. (Any such area may become reenrolled as mitigation land at a later date if it is demonstrated that habitat quality standards have been achieved.)

Evaluation of Impact Assumptions

As described above under Monitoring, the District will update Valley-wide riparian habitat mapping every 10 years. Over time, it is expected that the acreage of woody riparian habitat in the Valley will expand or contract as a result of climate conditions, restoration and enhancement efforts, or changes in water management and agricultural practices. After updated habitat mapping is completed, the District also will revisit assumptions and data used to estimate the impacts of the covered activities (see Section 3 and Appendix A). If this evaluation of new information demonstrates that the habitat acres in the Valley or impact assumptions have changed (resulting in greater or fewer impacts), the mitigation requirements for this HCP will be adjusted accordingly:

Minor (less than 15 percent^²⁸) changes in impacts and mitigation requirements resulting from this evaluation will be considered a minor modification to this HCP, and will be handled without amending the ITP as described below in Section 7.6.
A “major” change is defined as an increase in estimated impacts and mitigation requirements greater than or equal to 15 percent of those reported in Section 4.
Decreases in impacts and mitigation requirements resulting from this evaluation will be considered a minor modification, regardless of the size of the reduction.^²⁹
If major changes in impact assumptions and mitigation requirements are necessary, the Applicants will work with the Service to determine the appropriate amendment process (see Section 7.6).

Annual Reporting

The District will submit an annual report to the Service summarizing the extent and magnitude of potential take by covered activities and the monitoring activities conducted under this HCP. Each report will cover monitoring activities conducted during the calendar year, and will be submitted to the Service by March 1 of the following year. The District will have regular meetings with the steering committee to review the results of monitoring and to develop recommendations for adaptive management. Meetings will be held annually for the first six years of this HCP, and every two years thereafter.

The annual monitoring report will include the following:

A quantification of take (in habitat acres) resulting from covered activities. This quantification will be based on the current estimation of temporary impacts in addition to actual permanent impacts (estimated temporary impacts, based on macro-habitat mapping and other data, will be updated every 10 years).
A summary of the results of habitat monitoring studies using representative photographs, photo points, maps, and aerial photographs, as appropriate, to track the extent and condition of habitat.
A summary of the results of monitoring changes in riparian vegetation using a HQI (Appendix G) and permanent photo points.
A summary of the results of general flycatcher and cuckoo presence within core habitat areas and select private lands, and a discussion of implications for covered species.
A summary of the District’s education program efforts within the past year.
A summary table of county ordinance compliance, infractions, corrective actions implemented, and results.
After the first year, a summary of the adaptive management recommendations made by the steering committee at the most recent meeting, and a discussion of whether or how these recommendations were implemented by the District.

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