Conservation Strategies for Agricultural Landscapes: The Yolo - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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

Yolo Natural Heritage Program - Key Elem ents

 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

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

Yolo County Agriculture

Engaging farmers is critical to the conservation strategy

 The County’s 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

Value of Crops to Covered Wildlife

5 10 15 20 25 30

Natural Habitat Pasture Rice Grain and Hay Alfalfa Seed Crops Orchard/ Vineyard Truck crops

HCP Coverage Needs for Agriculture

• Incidental mortality and

injury to species

• Habitat change
• Marketing benefit of

conservation (“Certified”)

Yolo Agricultural Landscape is Dynam ic

 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

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

Agricultural Crop Groups

Crop Type Acres Percent FIELD CROPS 99,284 27% GRAIN AND HAY CROP 74,139 20% TRUCK & BERRY CROPS 64,370 18% PASTURE 41,863 11% RICE 30,411 8% DECIDUOUS FRUITS AND NUTS 25,756 7% IDLE 15,862 4% VINEYARD 9,438 3% SEMIAGRICULTURAL & INCIDENTAL TO AGRICULTURE 3,339 1% CITRUS AND SUBTROPICAL 303 0% Total Acres of Agriculture 364,765 100% Total Acres in County 653,629

Yolo Agriculture Crops

Field Crops Cotton Safflower Sugar beets Corn (field and sweet) Grain sorghum Sudan Beans (dry) Sunflowers Truck and Berry Crops Asparagus Beans (green) Cole crops Carrots Melons, squash, and cucumbers Onions and garlic Tomatoes Flowers, nursery, Christmas tree farms Mixed (four or more) Miscellaneous Bush berries Strawberries Peppers Broccoli Cabbage Pasture Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures Clover Mixed pasture Native pasture Miscellaneous grasses (grown for seed) Turf farms Grain and Hay Rice Deciduous Fruits & Nuts Apples Apricots Cherries Peaches and nectarines Pears Prunes Figs Miscellaneous Almonds Walnuts Pistachios Vineyard Citrus and Subtropical Oranges Olives Kiwi Eucalyptus Idle Sem i-Agriculture Farmsteads Livestock Feed Lots Poultry Farms

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

Yolo NHP Covered Agricultural Species

 Giant garter snake  Western pond turtle  White-tailed kite  Bald eagle  Northern harrier  Swainson’s 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  Townsend’s western big-eared

bat

 Pallid bat

Assign Habitat Values for Species Use

• f 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

Species-Crop Habitat Matrix

Determ ine Habitat Values of Each Agricultural Type

 Calculate Ha bita t 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

Determ ine Overall Habitat Value

 Example: Long-billed Curlew

Ag Habitat Type Value Acres Habitat Units Pasture Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures 0.75 * 33,549 = 25,162 Clover 0.5 * 61 = 31 Mixed pasture 0.5 * 4,037 = 2,019 Native pasture 0.75 * 2,371 = 1,778

• Misc. grasses (grown for seed)

0.5 * 1,337 = 669 Turf farms 0.5 * 325 = 163 Grain and Hay 0.75 * 74,139 = 55,604 Rice 0.75 * 30,411 = 22,808 All other Ag Types * 218,534 = TOTAL HABITAT UNITS

10 8 ,233

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