Conservation Strategies for Agricultural Landscapes: The Yolo Natural Heritage Program NCCPHCP

1
Conservation Strategies for Agricultural
Landscapes The Yolo Natural Heritage Program
NCCP/HCP
Presented to the Seventh Annual Workshop on
Habitat Conservation Planning From Tahoe to the
Bay Daniel Airola Airola Environmental
Consulting/SAIC November 18, 2009
2
Yolo Natural Heritage Program- Key Elements

• County-wide HCP/NCCP
• 654,000 acres
• 50 year permit
• Goals
• Conserve natural heritage
• Support viability of the agricultural economy
• Promote smart, sensible economic growth
• Protect natural areas and features
• Preserve open space areas and enhance recreation
• A Conservation Plan, not just a mitigation plan

3
Yolo NHP Covered Activities

• Wide range of Covered Activities addressed
• Development under General Plans
• only 3-5 of land area
• Utilities, transportation, flood control, water
  supply, parks
• new facilities
• operations and maintenance
• Agriculture
• ongoing activities
• limited conversion of natural habitats

4
Yolo County Agriculture

• The Countys primary economic activity
• Cultivated agric 360,000 ac
• 56 of total land area
• Highly diverse mix of agricultural crops
• Farmlands provide important habitat value
• 21 of 65 covered species

Engaging farmers is critical to the conservation
strategy
5
(No Transcript)
6
Value of Crops to Covered Wildlife
7
HCP Coverage Needs for Agriculture

• Incidental mortality and injury to species
• Habitat change
• Marketing benefit of conservation (Certified)

8
Yolo Agricultural Landscape is Dynamic

• Shorter term changes
• Annual condition changes
• - prepping, cultivating, growing, harvesting
• Crop rotations among years
• Water availability
• Potential longer term changes
• Crop economics
• Water sales
• Development
• Climate change

9
Process for Incorporating Agricultural Species
Conservation into the NHP

• Describe agricultural habitats
• Describe species relationships to habitats
• Identify habitat goals for species
• Evaluate contributions to goals provided by
  agriculture
• Integrate agricultural lands with natural
  communities

10
Agricultural Crop Groups
11
Yolo Agriculture Crops
12
Rating Species Use of Crops Habitat Suitability
Model Approach

• Review scientific literature
• Input from knowledgeable species biologists
• Model development
• Identify Covered Species that use agricultural
  lands
• Develop list of crops used by each species
• Identify relative value of each crop - for
  different uses (foraging, breeding, resting,
  dispersal)
• Key distance variables to nesting habitat,
  water, etc
• Prepare matrix of species-crop habitat values
• Summarized in Species Accounts and Species Models

13
Yolo NHP Covered Agricultural Species

• Giant garter snake
• Western pond turtle
• White-tailed kite
• Bald eagle
• Northern harrier
• Swainsons hawk
• Golden eagle
• Peregrine falcon
• Prairie falcon
• Mountain plover
• Black tern

• Burrowing owl
• Long-eared owl
• Short-eared owl
• Yellow-billed magpie
• Loggerhead shrike
• Yellow-headed blackbird
• Tricolored blackbird
• Western red Bat
• Townsends western big-eared bat
• Pallid bat

14
Assign Habitat Values for Species Use of Each
Agricultural Crop

• Per-acre habitat suitability ratings of crops
• Very High 1.0
• High 0.75
• Moderate 0.5
• Low 0.25
• Very low 0.1
• None 0.0

15
Species-Crop Habitat Matrix
16
Determine Habitat Values of Each Agricultural Type

• Calculate Habitat Units for Species
• Habitat Units crop habitat suitability value
  x acres of crop
• Creates a common currency for assessing the
  value of different combinations of crops

17
Determine Overall Habitat Value

• Example Long-billed Curlew

18
Use of Agricultural Habitat Valuations

• Describe existing values of agricultural lands
• Evaluate future scenarios - changes in
  agricultural use
• Incorporate with habitat values for other land
  cover types used by covered species (uplands,
  riparian, developed)
• Assess goals achievement in Conservation
  Strategies and adjust
• Serve as a basis for monitoring plan
  accomplishments
• Use plan monitoring to improve habitat valuation
  models