9576 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Certainty of Effectiveness Page 13 ~ The Division acknowledges and supports the principle that documented progress toward stable and increased distribution, abundance, and recruitment of populations of the three species constitutes the primary index of effectiveness of this conservation program. Conservation efforts implemented will be appropriate for the known threats to each population as identified through population and habitat surveys, many of which are already underway and included in the ~ following chapters. Objectives and Conservation Actions: Astep-by-step process to address threats The list of all potential conservation efforts is included in a separate document entitled, "Objectives and conservation actions for the three species: Annual priorities for the State of Utah ~ conservation and management plan for the roundtail chub, bluehead sucker, and flannelmouth sucker" (Annual Priorities), which the Team will use as guidance through the life of the Agreement. The Annual Priorities document identifies the objectives and the conservation needs for the three species by 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC). The Team will review the project list and go through a prioritization process (discussed in detail later in this text) internally each year before submittal of funding proposals. Team members will then meet to discuss the top ~ projects on the list and approve those that will be included in each Team member's annual workplans. The number of top priority projects for each year will be dependent upon the amount of expected funding for the upcoming year and the cost of each of the top priority projects. Each participating region in the Division is expected to participate in at least one, if not multiple projects to address threats to the species each year. Other Team members will incorporate three ~ species projects as identified through the prioritization process. Three species cooperators will revisit the Annual Priorities document at the end of each calendar year to determine whether any projects need to be removed from or added to the list. Required components ~ Regular surveying of populations is identified as a conservation action under the Range-wide Agreement. In addition to serving the conventional purposes of identifying baseline conditions and assessing impacts of management actions, this method of evaluation of conservation actions is also necessary to fulfill the PECE criteria regarding effectiveness of a conservation program; thus, it is necessary to 1) provide evidence of population stability; 2) provide information to ~ direct future management (adaptive management), another PECE criteria; and 3) assess cost effectiveness of actions. Other conservation actions identified in the Agreement and reiterated in the Strategy include development of a database to track all monitoring information; research on and identification of . life history, habitat requirements, and conservation needs; genetic and morphological characterization of populations; range expansion; population enhancement; habitat enhancement; nonnative control; and outreach (see Figure 1-1). Each of these activities is an essential component in the overall conservation of each of these species. Certain components may not be necessary for each species or in each management unit; however, no one component will be disregarded for a species unless agreed upon through consensus of the Team members.