by Orville Dyer, Ian MacKenzie, Alison Peatt, John Surgenor , Bryn White

1. Interior Grassland Species at Risk Recovery byOrville Dyer, Ian MacKenzie, Alison Peatt, John Surgenor, Bryn White Conservation Priority Analysis DRAFT

2. Conservation Priority Analysis • Why we need to prioritize • Methods • Results • Action Plan Recommendations

3. Conservation Prioritization Develop a conservation assessment decision support process to: • set priorities for grassland species and ecosystem conservation in the BC interior • strategically focus limited resources on the most important, highest risk areas. • provide species and ecosystem information to support others interested in grassland management.

4. Study Area • Used GCC, digital grassland layers • Identified interior Ecosections with grasslands

5. 32 Ecosections with interior grasslands

6. Methodology CF Goal 1 Species priority for Global Conservation CF Goal 3 Species priority for maintaining diversity CF Goal 2 Prevent species from becoming at risk: Integrate mapping and species data by Ecosection Risk (% habitat loss, % habitat remaining on Crown) Generate priorities for conservation action planning by Ecosection

7. Results Global Conservation CF Goal 1: Contribute to global efforts for species and ecosystem conservation • 34 species that are priority 1,2 or 3 are associated with interior grasslands

8. Results Global Conservation • Sharp-tailed Grouse, Columbianus Subspecies • Lewis's Woodpecker • Preble’s Shrew

9. Results Global Conservation

10. Results Global Conservation

11. Results Global Conservation

13. Results - Representation • CF Goal 2: Prevent species and ecosystems from becoming at risk “Keeping common species common”

14. Rationale for approach • Data and mapping are incomplete for most CF species • especially common species and plants • Use habitat representation as a surrogate and assume most species will be ok if they have a reasonable amount of habitat

15. Results - Representation

17. Results - Rarity CF Goal 3: Maintain the diversity of native species and ecosystem

18. Rationale for approach • Species at risk are the highest priority for maintaining diversity • Habitat and location data is available for SARA listed species • It is not consistently available for red and blue listed species or ecosystems

19. Grassland Species Categories • Grassland DependentSpecies: species that depend on grasslands for a substantial portion of their lives (i.e. Tiger Salamander adults live in grassland habitats other than during the breeding season). • Grassland Matrix: species that do not depend directly on grasslands but occur in wetland, riparian, rock outcrop or open forest habitat within or immediately adjacent to mapped grasslands (i.e. Toothcup is a beach associated plant in the bunchgrass zone and its habitat is within meters of grasslands). • Partially Grassland Dependent: species that use grasslands but most of the population(s) use other habitats extensively and would not be eliminated if grasslands were destroyed. (i.e. Western Toads are found in grasslands but are found much more extensively in forested habitats. • Not a grassland species: species that do not depend on grasslands to a great degree (i.e. Williamson’s Sapsucker depends on old growth larch, ponderosa pine or aspen).

20. Results - Rarity • 49 SARA listed grassland species at risk (including grassland, matrix and partially grassland dependent species).

24. Daniella Rambaldini Photo

26. COSEWIC and Provincial Status - Species in the Cariboo-Chilcotin COSEWIC PROVINCIAL • Badger E Red • Yellow-breasted Chat E Red • rusty cord-moss E Red • Burrowing Owl E Red • Great Basin Spadefoot T Blue • Gopher Snake, deserticloasubspecies T Blue • alkaline wing-nerved moss T Red • Peregrine Falcon SC Red • Prairie Falcon NAR Red • Lewis’s Woodpecker SC Red • American Avocet - - Red • Brewers SC Blue • Racer SC Blue • Spotted Bat SC Blue • Flammulated Owl SC Blue • Sharp-tailed Grouse, columbianus subspecies - - Blue • Columbian Carpet Moss SC Blue

29. Conservation Risk by Ecosection Risk was examined in 2 ways, separately,then combined into a single rank • Percent grassland habitat lost in each Ecosection • Percent of grassland habitat in each Ecosection that remains on provincial Crown land Note – excluded areas with <2000ha historical grassland

30. Percent Loss

31. Percent Crown Land

32. Risk combined: % loss and % remaining on Crown

33. Priority EcosectionsRepresentation, Global and Rarity Conservation, Risk

38. Recommendations • Develop and implement detailed action plansfor 13 Ecosections. These Ecosections include 91% of interior grasslands and all Ecosections that were ranked priority 1 or 2 in any category: global, rarity, representation, risk

39. Recommendations • Establish coordinated teams to help develop and implement action plans for these Ecosections (note that some are already established (i.e. soscp, occp, ekcp)

40. Recommendations 3. Use a fine filter approach for the remaining ecosections that have low priorities for representation, species at risk and risk