12. DRAFT_Attachment 7_Botany Survey Protocol.pdf

Sunflower Project Botany Survey Protocol

Unless otherwise noted, the entire Sunflower Project area shall be surveyed for the species below.

Surveyors shall be competent to identify species from the following list in the field, and/or to collect photos and a limited number of specimens as needed to confirm identification. Forest staff will share the ‘Kaibab National Forest Restricted & Narrow Endemic Flora Guidebook’ with the awardee to aid in surveys.

Surveys for a given species shall occur within the dates specified to allow a reasonable chance of detection:

Group Species Common Name Survey Period

Rare Plants

Asclepias quinquedentata slimpod milkweed July 15- September 30

Astragalus rusbyi Rusby’s milkvetch July 15- September 30

Clematis hirsutissima var.

hirsutissima

Arizona leatherflower May 1 – June 30

Draba asprella rough Whitlow-grass March 15- May 15

Eremogone aberrans Mt. Dellenbaugh sandwort

April 1- September 30

Ivesia multifoliolata many-leaf mousetail July 15- September 30

Mertensia macdougalii MacDougal’s bluebells April 1 – May 31

Penstemon nudiflorus Flagstaff beardtongue May 1 – July 31

Penstemon pseudoputus Kaibab beardtongue July 15 – September 30

Phemeranthus validulus Tusayan flameflower July 15- September 30

Phlox amabilis Arizona phlox May 1 - June 30

Potentilla arizonica Garland prairie cinquefoil

June 1- July 31

Rorippa microtitis* Chihuahuan yellowcress May 1 – June 30

Sisyrinchium longipes* timberland blue-eyed grass

June 15 – September

Triteleia lemmoniae Oak Creek triplet lily May 1- June 15

Invasive Plants

Botriochloa ischaemum Yellow bluestem July 15 – September 30

Centaurea stoebe Spotted knapweed May 1 – September 30

Centaurea diffusa Diffuse knapweed May 1 – September 30

Rhaponticum repens Russian knapweed May 1 – September 30

Centaurea solstitialis Yellow starthistle May 1 – September 30

Euphorbia esula Leafy spurge May 1 – September 30

Onopordum acanthium Scotch thistle May 1 – September 30

Linaria dalmatica * Dalmatian toadflax May 1 – September 30

Shifts in survey timing may be requested post-award (e.g. due to yearly weather patterns, species phenology, or professional disagreement over appropriate survey windows.) Changes must be approved by Kaibab National Forest staff.

*Surveys for Rorippa microtitis and Sisyrinchium longipes may be confined to tanks, lakes and wet meadows in the project area.

Under the conditions above, adequate survey coverage shall be construed as 100% visual coverage of the survey area under an assumed 30 foot visual range (i.e., transects spaced no more than 60 feet apart will be adequate.)

Data Collection:

Geospatial data shall be recorded on equipment providing location accuracy within 30 feet. All geospatial data from surveys shall be provided as .gdb feature classes or .shp files with attributes requested.

Survey:

Areas surveyed shall be recorded and provided as linear track logs (preferred,) as idealized transect lines that surveyors followed, or as polygons, with dates and names of surveyors as attributes.

Plant record protocol:

An Element Occurrence (rare plant) or Infestation (invasive plant) point shall be recorded when a) one or more individuals of a given species are identified within a circular area of no larger than 20 foot radius, and b) no other individuals are found within 20 feet of the exterior of said circle.

An Element Occurrence or Infestation polygon shall be recorded when individuals of a given species are within 40 feet of one another but constitute a larger area than a point can represent. Any break of 40 feet or greater between individuals shall be represented in terms of separate Element Occurrences (or Infestations.)

The following attributes for each Element Occurrence or Infestation shall be recorded on site and provided in the geospatial record:

Species Date Surveyor # Plants* #Plants Estimated? (Y/N) [Estimates may be appropriate if plants appears to number 50 or more, and/or if polygons are greater than 100 feet in any dimension.] % Vegetative** % Flowering** % Fruiting or Dispersed** % Seedling/Juvenile** Species Cover %: Estimated Daubenmire cover of the species of interest within the polygon (or within the 20 foot radius around a point); If cover is less than 5%, estimate to the nearest 0.1%.

Comments (unique observations about the plant population or site; out-of-the-ordinary site disturbances)

*Surveyors should be competent estimators of what constitutes a genetic individual (genet) for all species surveyed; counts should be in terms of genets rather than ramets. For example, a clump of 40 Linaria dalmatica stems within 1 m2 shall be counted as 1 individual.

** The 4 phenology categories must total 100 for each record.

Survey Closeout

The project area will be considered adequately surveyed when the above conditions are met and a final data package and brief report is provided to Forest staff. This benchmark shall be met before mechanical thinning plans can be finalized.