| Section Six: Native Plant Cons. Program |
 |
|
|
 |
| Introduction |
|
The Native Plant Conservation Program (NPCP) at ODA emphasizes conservation and protection of naturally occurring plant species in Oregon. Developed in 1987, the NPCP focuses on (1) developing conservation plans for state-protected species; (2) reviewing research and commercial activities associated with listed species on state lands; (3) providing support to state and local agencies (and the general public) in dealing with native plant protection issues required by federal and state law; and (4) reviewing and commenting on federal regulations regarding listing and conservation decisions for Oregon plants under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
NPCP staff (OSU and ODA): Upper, left to right: Bob Meinke (Program Lead); Liz Martin (OSU graduate student); Troy Maddux (ODA staff); Ian Silvernail (OSU graduate student). Below, left to right: Stephen Meyers (OSU graduate student); Rebecca Currin (ODA staff); Kelly Amsberry (ODA staff).
|
|
|
| Special projects in 2005 |
|
ODA field botanists continued working on clearance projects in 2005 that support state programs for improving Oregon’s economic outlook. In the late spring and summer, NPCP leader Bob Meinke and staff once again were on temporary special assignment for the Governor’s Economic Revitalization Team, reviewing the environmental quality of publicly-owned industrial sites across the state. In the last three years, ODA botanists have completed 70 detailed site surveys in support of this program. With each successive year, the numbers of parcels and acres to be surveyed have become fewer, as ODA has helped significantly reduce the backlog of public properties awaiting clearance under state environmental regulations.
Chart: Survey seasons and total acreage evaluated for Governor's Economic Revitalization team
The 2005 sites, ranging from 30 to nearly 300 acres in size, are considered prime prospects for development and (as in 2003 and 2004) are largely located in economically challenged areas. The sites were thoroughly assessed by ODA staff for the presence of sensitive biological resources, particularly endangered plant species, as part of the clearance process. No protected species were found in 2005, and the sites were cleared for development by the end of the summer.
|
|
|
| Collaborative outreach |
|
NPCP staff collaborated with OSU, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game in a program designed to develop conservation plans for several native species in the economically important legume family from Oregon and California. Species of special conservation concern in both states were evaluated by OSU staff and students, in consultation with ODA botanists who had previously worked with these plants in arid regions of eastern Oregon. Legumes include beans, peas, alfalfa, and other key species, and many wild members of this group are being increasingly investigated as crop and forage alternatives. NPCP staff also served as advisors to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2005, helping to prepare a state-wide plan (sponsored by the federal government) describing the conservation status of Oregon’s native animal and plant resources. NPCP staff will serve on an interagency team that will evaluate the plan as it is implemented in 2006.
|
|
|
| Five-year status review |
|
Oregon law requires ODA to reassess the protective status of species listed as endangered or threatened at least every five years. A key component of this process is an annual field survey program, where known populations of the 58 protected plant species in Oregon are revisited and measured to determine their relative health and vigor, as well as their need for continued listing. After a brief hiatus due to budget reductions, populations were once again evaluated by NPCP staff in 2005, with a goal for 2006 of making necessary adjustments to the state list of endangered and threatened plants. Since 1988, the NPCP has conducted 2,162 on-site monitoring evaluations of listed plant species populations in Oregon.
Chart: Number of plant populations evaluated
|
|
|
| Measure 66 initiatives |
|
Lottery funds made available through Measure 66 were received in 2005 for use in native plant and vegetation restoration projects. Projects that were initiated in latter 2005 (and which will be continued throughout the 2005-07 biennium) include the following:
- Improving habitat and riparian areas in the Calapooya Creek watershed for federally listed species through outplanting and exotic brush removal. This is a cooperative project with USFWS and DSWCD oriented towards habitat restoration in the Sutherlin area;
- Completion of a series of upland rehabilitation projects in partnership with the City of Jacksonville, BLM, the Herbert Stone Nursery (US Forest Service), and OSU, to reduce or eliminate extensive weed populations (and replacing them with native shrubs, forbs, and grasses), with the intent of improving the overall condition of selected slopes along the Jackson Creek drainage;
- A cooperative project including BLM, USFWS, and others in Douglas County east of Wilbur, focusing on weed management, grazing, native plant restoration efforts, and hydrologic modifications designed to improve and maintain sensitive habitats in the North Umpqua watershed;
- A joint project with Roseburg BLM District to establish control techniques for pennyroyal (mint family), a recently introduced, aggressive weed invading western Oregon wetlands and marshes;
- Restoration of native semaphore grass populations, a rare meadow grass with forage potential, was continued in 2005 in riparian areas of Lake and Grant counties. After initial field work in 2004 and 2005, ODA began tiller production in late 2005 for use in outplanting efforts over the next two years. This is part of a cooperative partnership with the Burns Paiute Tribe, the BLM, and USFWS; and
- A cooperative project to collect and cultivate seed and bulbs of several native species for restoration efforts in various state watersheds. Areas where these plant materials will be used include Jackson County (Jackson Creek watershed); Baker County (Powder River Valley); Josephine County (Illinois River drainage); and Deschutes County (lodgepole pine forests south of La Pine).
|
|
|
| Cooperative conservation efforts |
|
Finally, NPCP staff continued to work on a wide array of cooperative projects in 2005, with a total of 191 major plant conservation initiatives now completed or in progress since the inception of the program in 1988. Projects have been completed in 32 Oregon counties. In 2005, NPCP staff worked directly with federal and state agencies, universities, and private organizations on 18 field-oriented and other conservation ventures. These projects, largely supported through external grants, provide important opportunities to improve state plant conservation efforts in many areas, and allow ODA to provide management input for endangered species on federal and state lands. Notable was the renewal of the Section 6 agreement between ODA and the federal government, which under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, greatly facilitates recovery actions and status evaluations of federally-protected species in Oregon by ODA staff. Projects of note that were initiated in 2005 include:
- Developing a weed management plan and maintaining a cultivation facility for the federally-listed Gentner’s fritillary (lily family) in the Jacksonville area;
- Monitoring and recovery work, conducted jointly with Baker County and NRCS staff, of native greasewood habitat and remaining populations of Howell’s thelypody, a nearly extinct member of the mustard family found only in isolated pockets of northeast Oregon; and
- Working with ODOT to develop a management plan for Cook’s desert parsley, a federally protected species occurring along state and county highways in Josephine County.
A degraded slope above Jacksonville in southwest Oregon, with ODA staff and city volunteers removing yellow starthistle and replanting local native shrubs and trees, including ponderosa pine, buckbrush, madrone, and oak.
Gentner’s fritillary, a federally-protected member of the lily family, which will directly benefit from the habitat improvement work underway in Jackson County.
Kelly Amsberry (ODA) and Dave Speten (Burns Paiute Tribe) measure recent outplantings of Oregon semaphore-grass, a native species from eastern Oregon marshes being evaluated for use in meadow and riparian improvement projects.
Site of a cooperative weed suppression and native plant re-introduction project in the North Umpqua watershed (Douglas County), coordinated by ODA and involving DSWCD, Roseburg BLM, and US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Pennyroyal, an invasive weed now affecting thousands of acres of natural wetlands in Western Oregon, is the subject of an ODA pilot project (in cooperation with the Roseburg BLM District) designed to reduce the spread and impact of this aggressive species.
Alan Bahn (NRCS), examines native outplantings near the Powder River (a cooperative project between ODA, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Baker County, and NRCS), designed to reduce the impact of weeds and improve habitat for native, salt-tolerant forb species.
|
|
| |
|
|
