1997-06-13_REPORT - M1981302 (11)

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PART II RECOVERY A. Ob.iecti ve Description and Rationale. This recovery plan seeks to address Ute ladies'- tresses recovery by maintaining and restoring the ecological processes that create and maintain good orchid habitat. It describes a process for watershed level planning and management designed to achieve the goal of maintaining and restoring watershed conditions for the long-term persistence of the orchid throughout its known historical range. This is an attempt to interpret and define "ecosystem management' and apply it to the recovery of a species. The focus on watershed level planning and management is necessary because it is watershed conditions and processes that create and maintain habitat for the orchid. Many other species of special concern are affected by watershed conditions and management, and their needs can be coordinated with and met through efforts made to recover the Ute ladies'-tresses. For natural _ ud�), viability, the orchid is considered to require, and to be, an indicator species of streams in a state of dynamic equilibrium with their physical settings. Therefore, accomplishment of Ute ladies'-tresses population goals is expected to require management of streams and their watersheds consistent with natural stream flows and hydrography, stream gradients, soils, etc. Both population levels and amount of suitable habitat for the orchid within a watershed are expected to fluctuate over time. Recovery of the Ute ladies'-tresses and removal from the list of endangered and threatened species will be accomplished when it is demonstrated that: 1 . Viable populations throughout its historic range and representative of its genetic endowment are maintained in riparian habitats of streams in a state of dynamic equilibrium. 2. Wet meadow, seep, and spring habitats are protected and managed so as to sustain viable populations. The objectives of this recovery plan are to determine the number, size, and distribution of viable populations, level of protection, and watershed and habitat management practices required to achieve recovery of the orchid and establish procedures and processes for accomplishing recovery goals. This recovery plan does not set specific population goals (Task 1.6) for the Ute ladies'-tresses at this time because: 1. Population levels and viability are determined by habitat conditions created and maintained by natural watershed processes. Therefore, the significance of population size and distribution within a watershed can only be assessed in terms of the ability of the watershed to perpetuate it. Recovery targets must include certain habitat and watershed factors as well as orchid population size. However, the linkages between watershed processes, habitat conditions, and population response are complex and not completely understood. As more information is obtained, 15