Draft SNFPA Management Review and Recommendations

Impacts to Grazing

New Information and Understanding Gained from Review

Impacts from Standards and Guidelines for Sensitive Species

A summary of the ROD standards and guidelines for selected sensitive species is presented below. It is important to recognize that the focus of this report is on selected standards and guidelines that impact grazing activity. As a result, what is presented and discussed here represents a select component of a larger strategy to manage meadows and riparian ecosystems. For example, many components of the Aquatic Management Strategy in the SNFPA will not be highlighted in this report, although they play an important role in maintaining suitable habitat for the species of concern.

The Team began by developing a more detailed assessment of the likely effects of the standards and guidelines on grazing activities. This included a status check on the degree to which surveys mandated under the ROD had been completed. Based on the latest information about the range and distribution of the species of concern, we were able to better quantify the impact from the existing management direction. After validating the magnitude and extent of likely impacts, the Team began reviewing the rationale behind the standards and guidelines to identify which effects they were designed to mitigate, why the ROD adopted a particular approach, and if and how alternative direction could be developed to achieve the same outcome.

The sections below are organized by key species. A synthesis of the new information collected from two years of survey work is provided, along with a review of the key assumptions made in the FEIS about the effects of grazing on the species of concern. The standards and guidelines are reviewed for the way in which they addressed the relative significance of these effects, the uncertainty surrounding management actions, and the comprehensive protection for riparian and meadow ecosystems woven throughout Alternative Modified 8. The Team also considered the new information and management recommendations provided by the recently completed conservation assessment for the willow flycatcher. ^[27]

²⁷ Gregory A. Green, Helen L. Bombay, Michael L. Morrison, "Draft Conservation Assessment of the Willow Flycatcher in the Sierra Nevada", January 9, 2003.

USDA Forest Service · Pacific Southwest Region