The status of Orcuttieae a quarter century later Carol W. Witham Northern California Botanists 2014...
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The status of The status of Orcuttieae Orcuttieae a quarter century a quarter century later later www.vernalpools.org Carol W. Witham Northern California Botanists 2014 Symposium, 1/13/2014
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Transcript of The status of Orcuttieae a quarter century later Carol W. Witham Northern California Botanists 2014...
The status of OrcuttieaeThe status of Orcuttieaea quarter century latera quarter century later
www.vernalpools.org
Carol W. WithamNorthern California Botanists 2014 Symposium, 1/13/2014
www.vernalpools.org
Great Valley vernal pool Great Valley vernal pool federally listed species federally listed species
Orcuttieae tribe of Poaceae•Colusa grass (Neostapfia colusana) T
•San Joaquin Valley orcutt grass (Orcuttia inaequalis) T
•Hairy orcutt grass (Orcuttia pilosa) E
•Slender orcutt grass (Orcuttia tenuis) T
•Sacramento orcutt grass (Orcuttia viscida) E
•Greene’s tuctoria (Tuctoria greenei) E
•Solano Grass (Tuctoria mucronata) E
Hoover’s spurge (Chamaesyce hooveri) T
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Prior informationPrior information Last comprehensive survey
in 1986-1987 (Stone et al. 1988)
CNDDB records
•273 occurrences
•50 extirpated
•29 possibly extirpated
•194 presumed extant
– 48 visited in last decade
– 75% not visited in last decade
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Since the 1986-87 surveys…Since the 1986-87 surveys… • Publication of the Recovery Plan for Vernal Pool Ecosystems of California and Southern
Oregon (USFWS 2005)
– Calls for conducting range-wide status surveys and status reviews for all species covered in the Plan
• >100,000 acres of vernal pool habitat destroyed (Holland 2009)
• Monumental changes in GPS and GIS technology and availability
– Stone et al. (1988) relied on paper topographic maps for survey work and recording data
• Central Valley Project Conservation Program (CVPCP) and Central Valley Project Improvement Act Habitat Restoration Program (HRP)
– A proposal to update the 1986-87 surveys seemed to be a perfect fit for this program and was funded in 2008
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Office review and preparation…Office review and preparation…
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Office review and preparation…Office review and preparation…
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The “road trip”…The “road trip”… • Conducted during the heat of the summer in 2010 and 2011
– 2008 was preparation work and 2009 was cancelled due to lack of rain
• >10,000 miles
• An amazing opportunity to learn more about the Great Valley, in particular the San Joaquin Valley which I did not know very well
• There were also obstacles and disappointments…
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Summary of results…Summary of results…
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Results by element occurrence…Results by element occurrence…
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Results by species…Results by species…
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Results by core recovery unit…Results by core recovery unit…
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Results by important regions…Results by important regions…
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Summary of results…Summary of results…
Visitedf Not Visitedg
Chamaesyce hooveri 29 0 2 31 2 3 12 6 8
Neostapfia colusana 59 0 6 65 13 4 17 10 21
Orcuttia inaequalis 47 -4 0 43 16 1 9 4 13
Orcuttia pilosa 35 -2 0 33 8 7 9 5 4
Orcuttia tenuis a 46 -4 2 44 3 2 21 1 17
Orcuttia viscida 11 0 1 12 2 0 8 0 2
Tuctoria greenei b 43 -1 3 45 15 2 13 5 10
Tuctoria mucronata 3 0 1 4 1 0 3 0 0
TOTALS 273 -11 15 277 60 19 92 31 75
fSites where habitat was present, but no plants were found on the date of the field survey; possibly represents marginal habitat for the species.
gSites were not visited for a variety of reasons including inability to access; this is more fully explained in the detailed data in Appendix A.
Extant
a Only reports on the occurrences within the Great Valley; Orcuttia tenuis is also known from 49 occurrences outside the valley.bOnly reports on the occurrences within the Great Valley; Tuctoria greenei is also known from 1 occurrence outside the valley.
cCNDDB Occurrences assessed from California Natural Diversity Database RareFind 3.0, data set dated November 4, 2012.
Presumed ExtantSpecies Name
CNDDB
Occurrencesc
Erroneous
OccurrencesdNew
OccurrencesTotal
Occurrences Extirpatede Possibly
Extirpatede
eApproximately 37 of the Extirpated or Possibly Extirpated sites were visited; see additional information in Apppendix A.
dErroneous Occurrences are more fully explained in the species by occurrence data presented in Appendix A.
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My two cents…My two cents… On the negative side
•Unregulated and potentially illegal agricultural conversions continue to be a major concern
– Primarily conversion to orchards in Stanislaus and Madera counties
– Hickman Vernal Pools have not been converted, but have been completely altered by irrigation runoff from encroaching orchards
•Removal of cattle grazing on BLM lands in Tehama County is of some concern
– Feral pigs have proliferated in the area
– All Orcuttia tenuis populations on BLM parcels and adjacent properties had been damaged by feral pigs rooting in the vernal pools
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My two cents…My two cents… On the positive side
•Large tracts of vernal pool landscapes are under some form of protection
– Dales, Hogs and Vina Plains in Tehama County
– Eastern Merced County
•Other areas have significant proportions of their vernal pool resources under protection
– Sacramento Wildlife Refuge in Glenn County
– Stone Corral Ecological Area in Tulare County
– Jepson Prairie area in Solano County
•It was an awesome road trip!
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Thank youThank you • Full report is available at www.vernalpools.org
