Maguire primrose was listed as Threatened August 21, 1985 (50 FR 33731), with a recovery plan finalized September 1990. The recovery plan calls for conducting and reporting botanical inventories and monitoring efforts, as well as surveying areas of potentially suitable habitat to refine estimates of total population size. The terrain where Maguire primrose grows is difficult to inventory and monitor using traditional botanical survey methods (see images). Recently, new Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology was used for the census of another rare plant, the dwarf bear poppy, with some success. Adapting this technology to the Maguire primrose habitat could eliminate risks to field going crews, and allow for inventory and monitoring in suitable habitat deemed too dangerous or impractical to survey in the past.

This project was delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Drone flights were successfully accomplished at the end of April, 2021. Additional time is needed for Image Processing and Product Generation. This includes the creation of standard photogrammetry products, developing an interactive method for presenting results of individually geotagged images in a 3D environment, and a report on data collection methods/protocol.

Wasatch-Cache Forest Plan, Desired conditions: Management activities provide for ecological conditions that contribute to the recovery of federally listed, proposed, or sensitive species. Pro-active efforts are made to educate and inform users of fundamental importance of plant species to society, plant conservation, and biodiversity. Forestwide goals and subgoals: 3) Provide for sustained diversity of species at the genetic, populations, community and ecosystem levels. Maintain communities within their historic range of variation that sustains habitats for viable populations of species. 3a. Maintain or restore viability of populations of species at risk, Watch List Plants, and rare communities. 3c. Increase understanding of and support research on the distribution, ecology, and threats to plant species at risk, nonvascular plants and rare plant communities. 3i. Maintain viability of species-at-risk (including endangered, threatened and sensitive species and unique communities). 3k. Improve Forest users' understanding of the values of and potential human impacts to biodiversity and viability of species. Area Specific Direction-Bear Management Area-Botanical Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plant Species Protection/Recovery: Rare plant habitats will be managed to maintain or restore and provide for recovery of populations of threatened species. Proactive efforts will be emphasized to educate and inform forest users of the fundamental importance of plant species to society, plant conservation, and biodiversity. Recovery Plan for Maguire Primrose-Inventorying suitable habitat, conducting minimum viable population studies, managing activities that could affect populations or habitats, and developing techniques for artificially propagating plants for possible population expansion or establishment. FWS recommends use of unmanned aerial systems (drones) in less accessible locations to validate the upper population estimate (2018).

Wasatch-Cache National Forest Environmental Impact Statement-Efforts to increase information concerning trends, biology, and viability, and to preserve existing populations will be made for all TEPS (Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, or Sensitive) species and plant species at risk.

The Forest Service's Geospatial Technology and Applications Center has established an IDIQ contract with a well-vetted Utah company (Red Castle) to conduct both drone flights and required analysis of collected data (example of successful project included in documents).If approved, this proposal will provide methods/protocol to accomplish much needed inventory of existing element occurrences, as well as the ability to survey inaccessible suitable habitat, with the assurance of reports and data delivered in a timely fashion. Forest Service personnel will conduct surveys in tandem with the drone flights to provide field validation of plant abundance. Utah State University is providing information on current phenology, locations, and abundance and is interested in providing surveys and data analysis in future phases of this project.

A report will be generated detailing survey protocol, as well as information on element occurrence or suitable habitat surveyed.

Utah Native Heritage Program (UNHP) Geo-spatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) Utah State University (USU) Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

Current threats to the Maguire primrose include recreational use (rock climbers), warmer/drier climate, and invasion of cheatgrass and other non-native invasive plants moving in to Logan canyon. Maguire primrose is difficult to germinate, transplant attempts have been unsuccessful, and establishing new populations has proven to be ineffective. These threats highlight the need for practical survey methods to monitor the known populations, hopefully discover new ones, and establish a trend for this Threatened species. Protocol established during this project will be used to conduct future monitoring, and lead to a more informed management perspective. With a better idea of population size, extent, and trend, we can get to work on establishing propagation techniques to aid in maintaining these populations if a decline is detected.

07/01/2021

11/22/2021

2022

Once imagery was collected (Phase 1), the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center used specialized software (Metashape) to process the imagery and generate a 3D model. Manual and automated methods were used to scan the model for presence of Maguire's primrose plants, and an inventory was accomplished for the areas scanned.

The following is a list of the deliverables generated from the imagery: *Point cloud(LAZ): the overlapping image pairs are matched and depth maps are generated to estimate the horizontal and vertical coordinates of each pixel. This results in a 3D representation of the scene. *Tile mesh(SLPK): A mesh is a polygonal model based on the point cloud information. A tiled mesh allows the user to create a mesh over a larger area with more detail. *Project file(PSX and .files): This is the Metashape project file (PSX) that stores all the aligned images, 3D model, and other products. *Markers (TXT): These are points placed on Maguire's primrose flowers seen in the aligned images in Metashape. Since the images are aligned, the software knows wherethe points are in 3D model space. The text file can also be imported into GIS software for visualizing with the tiled mesh. *Planar mosaic (TIF):This is a mosaic of the individual images into a single image. Rock walls and other vertical structures are not captured very well in traditional orthomosaic that look downward. A planar mosaic is generated from a horizontal vantage point to better see the vertical detail. *Processing report (PDF):This is a report generated by Metashape to provide an overview of the processing steps, times, outputs, and accuracy of models.

UAS technology provides a means for getting timely and ultra-high-resolution imagery to detect Maguire's primrose. This method is also much safer and more accurate compared to traditional survey methods that involve repelling down the rock walls and sketching the approximate location of the plants. Using UAS imagery, hundreds of Maguire's primrose were located and their precise location was marked for surveying and future monitoring.