1997-06-13_REPORT - M1981302 (19)

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Department staff time and fiscal resources are largely dedicated to ecosystem and smaller-scale area management planning. The Plan recommendations, and the possible mechanisms and timing of recovery implementation, should be addressed during this planning process. It is likely that the development of an orchid recovery program in the Boulder valley and vicinity will be a long-term endeavor. In the interim, the Open Space Department will continue to protect and manage orchid habitat on City of Boulder lands, and provide public education. Specific Comments 1. "Disjunct" populations or sub-populations and their treatment in the recovery process. There is consensus among the recovery team members who are familiar with S. diluvialis habitat in the Boulder Valley that the recovery planning and implementation process should apply equitably to orchid occurrences in wet meadow (non-riparian, termed "disjunct" in the Plan) and riparian habitats. Wet meadow and riparian orchid habitats in the Boulder area lie within the same tloodplain. and are related hydrologically. Even though seasonal irrigation, mowing, and/or grazing are common in wet meadow orchid habitat, these management treatments do not result in an ecological separation of orchid habitat types in the area. Conditions occurring in both wet meadow and riparian areas satisfy orchid habitat requirements, and contribute to the survival of the species. As plans for orchid recovery develop in the Boulder Valley, the various orchid habitat types, and the processes that create and maintain those habitat types will require equal attention. Therefore, the Interdisciplinary Teams defined in the Plan should evaluate all orchid habitat, propose Habitat Conservation Areas and Critical Contributing Areas by considering all components of watersheds that support S. diluvialis, and develop Management Objectives and Standards and Guidelines for Riparian/Aquatic/Wet meadow habitat. The statement on page 28 that"...disjunct populations will be protected and managed until such time as the species is recovered or the populations are no longer considered essential for orchid recovery.", suggests that the wet meadow, hayfield populations of S. diluvialis are expected to be less important than riparian populations for the long-term conservation of the species. There are several reasons to anticipate the need for long-term protection and management of wet meadow populations and the processes supporting them. These include: 1) Some of the largest known populations or sub-populations of S. diluvialis occur in wet meadow, "disjunct' habitat on land managed by City of Boulder Open Space Department. 2) Results from genetic studies by Anna Arft (doctoral student, University of Colorado, Boulder) of several orchid populations throughout the species' range indicate that each population is genetically unique and important for the conservation of the species. 3) Presently,most populations of the orchid are influenced and maintained by human manipulation of hydrologic processes. In the Colorado Front Range "natural' riparian or wet meadow habitats are lacking. Even with a watershed-level management approach, ongoing human activities such as flood control, water use, and recreation will continue to alter and replace natural disturbance and other processes. It is possible that the anthropogenically-maintained, wet meadow orchid habitat in Boulder Valley has the greatest potential for long-term sustainability because of the degree of control land managers have over this habitat type. An interdisciplinary watershed 2