This ESMF portion of this project is to ensure the match for Section 6 moneys are fully matched 75% Federal 25% state

Rare plants surveys and monitoring of specific listed or conservation agreement plants will occur as mentioned in attached proposal

See attached proposal

See attached proposal

N/A

N/A

See attached proposal

See attached proposal

See attached proposal

See attached proposal

See attached proposal

N/A

02/22/2023

06/30/2023

2023

In support of the overarching goal of the URPP to prioritize data needs and data gaps on Utah's rare plants, discussions with USFWS were initiated prior to the beginning of field season in 2023. Garrett Sisson, USFWS Biologist, provided a layer that contained federally listed plant and animal suitable habitat, annual weed density and development percentage models refined to 1 km2 for Washington County, Utah. Individual layers for Holmgren's milkvetch, Shivwits milkvetch, Gierisch's globemallow, Siler's pincushion cactus, dwarf bear claw poppy, Ficks plains cactus models were extracted for use in ESRI Field Maps Application. A filter was also used to generate a layer depicting stressors (annual invasive weed cover and percentage of development) with darker color representing increasing severity. These habitat models and stressors were used to aid in prioritizing habitat to survey. The URPP conducted field surveys in Washington County April 6th -- 11th, 2023 following established protocols and at the appropriate flowering times. The URPP survey effort primarily focused on testing the habitat models for Shivwits milkvetch, Holmgren's milkvetch, and Gierisch's globemallow. Partnering projects include Susan Meyer and Kody Rominger's continued work (drone surveys and monitoring) with dwarf bear claw poppy and paradox milkvetch and Blake Wellard's monitoring of Siler's pincushion cactus plants transplanted in 2020 at the White Dome Nature Preserve south of St. George, Utah. The results of partners' work will be forthcoming in separate reports or publications. The unsuccessful search for Ficks plains cactus in Utah continued in 2021. Plant salvage was coordinated with BLM, Washington County and USFWS personnel. At the end of the field season, positive and negative observations for rare plants were ingested into the Utah Rare Plant Database. This process was streamlined by the Rare Plant Data Managers through the creation of scripts to automate the process. Improvements and additional fields were added to the user interface through ESRI Field Maps application. Observations made during Washington County field surveys are provided in attached data package.

This project aides the State of Utah in meeting their obligations under the newly signed Amended Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Desert Tortoise in Washington County (SWCA Environmental Consultants and Jacobs 2020). As part of the HCP, the State of Utah Department of Natural Resources (UDNR) committed to coordinating with the Washington County HCP Administrator to perform listed plant surveys in suitable and occupied habitat within the HCP take area prior to development (Washington County et al. 2020). This work provides needed data on distribution and abundance of listed plants in the Washington County, Utah. Where plants are found, the UDNR would also coordinate and perform plant salvage and seed collections as feasible prior to development. Ideally, plant surveys would be performed well ahead of development to allow time to plan and perform any follow up salvage and collection efforts. The UDNR commitments support an important recovery action for the six listed plant species in the HCP take area -- paradox milkvetch (Astragalus holmgreniroum), Shivwits milkvetch (Astragalus ampullarioides), Gierisch's globemallow (Sphaeralcea gierischii), Siler's pincushion cactus (Pediocactus sileri), dwarf bear claw poppy (Arctomecon humilis), and Ficks plains cactus (Pediocactus peeblesianus var. fickeiseniae). The Utah Rare Plant Program (URPP) assists the State of Utah and our Federal and private partners with needed data to aid in the conservation and recovery of rare plant species. The URPP plays an integral role in implementing conservation actions for at-risk plant species such as monitoring, written reports and ongoing contact and conversations with our partners. This work was made possible through funding provided through a US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Section 6 grant and Utah's Endangered Species Mitigation Fund. This report is for fiscal year 2023 which is from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Field surveys were conducted following established protocols and at the appropriate flowering times beginning in the spring of 2023.

Through funding from and meetings with all of our partners, important information gains can be made on Utah's rare flora to allow more complete analyses of threats, trends, and distribution in order to prioritize conservation strategies and actions. Additional funding was received from USFWS for continuation of this work into FY2024. This work will include continued testing of habitat models to generate positive and negative observations, collection of DNA samples of Shivwits milkvetch to send to Rob Massatti at the US Geological Survey, as well as providing aid in the implementation of plant salvage.