Laserfiche WebLink
<br />.. <br /> <br />/II. WILDLIFE MONITORING & EVALUATION <br /> <br />~ <br />.;:.. <br />00 <br />.- <br /> <br />1. Introduction <br /> <br />..:tl:, <br />1?>. <br /> <br />Wildlife upland and wetland habitat is being monitored at <br />selected sites in the McElmo Creek Salinity Control Unit. <br />These sites (as outlined in the McElmo Creek EIS) include 15 <br />contracts (farm units) .selected each year from the first <br />three years of the Salinity Program for a total of 45 sites. <br />Habitat changes are presently being tracked for all salinity <br />contracts to measure habitat quality and quantity (for <br />existing, planned. and applied conditions). <br /> <br />2 . Obj ecti ves <br /> <br />The McElmo Creek Salinity control unit, located in a once <br />xeric basin with irrigated agriculture introduced 75 years <br />ago, contains extensive wetlands associated with over- <br />irrigation, seepage (canal, lateral and ditCh) losses, and <br />accumulation (perching) in geological depressions (includes <br />drainages). As irrigation systems and management practices <br />become more efficient water supply to these wetlands will be <br />diminished. Losses of upland habitat will occur in order to <br />facilitate these new systems (such as incidental field <br />squaring, ditch removal, etc.). Evaluations are being made <br />to measure the impacts of salinity project implementation to <br />wetland and upland wildlife habitat and to also assess the <br />effectiveness of voluntary actions by landowners to replace <br />any habitat losses attributed to irrigation system <br />improvement. These evaluations are being conducted to <br />document existing, planned (projected) and applied <br />conditions for every contract. <br /> <br />7,. I <br />~~'.:~} <br /> <br />3. Methodology <br /> <br />Habitat quality is being determined by using the U.S. Fish <br />and Wildlife Service Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP). <br />. Habitat data gathered from individual salinity contracts and <br />randomly selected monitoring sites is being used to <br />calculate Habitat suitability Index (HSI) values for <br />selected wildlife species. The HSI is a numerical index <br />rating which measures habitat quality for wildlife species <br />on a scale of zero (0) to one (1). The value attained <br />reflects the potential of a habitat type to support a <br />specific wildlife species. (HSI models basically look at the <br />life requisites, food, water and cover, of a species and <br />their seasonable availability to that species.). An HSI <br />value of 1.0 implies an area has the greatest potential to <br />support the selected wildlife species, while a value of .1 <br />denotes significantly lower potential (one-tenth of <br />potential to support that species) for that species to exist <br />in the area. <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />10 <br /> <br />~'. . <br /> <br />>~~ . <br />