Desert Tortoise Conservation Agreement Implementation

 

October 21, 2015

In Reply Refer To:

6840 (9320) P

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 10/22/2015

Instruction Memorandum No. AZ-2016-004

Expires:  9/30/2019

 

To:                  District Managers and Field Managers

 

From:              State Director

 

Subject:           Desert Tortoise Conservation Agreement Implementation

 

Purpose:  The purpose of this Instruction Memorandum (IM) is to articulate management policy for the Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) and its habitat on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Arizona, in a consistent manner between the District and Field Offices.  In June 2015, the BLM-Arizona entered into a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) for the Sonoran Desert Tortoise in Arizona (Attachment 1).  This CCA includes conservation and reporting commitments, which the BLM has agreed to, in order to ensure the conservation of the Sonoran desert tortoise on Federal lands in Arizona (Attachment 2).  The conservation measures are included in, and/or are in conformance with, all Resource Management Plans (RMPs) in the State, as well as Manual Section 6840, Special Status Species Management.

 

Because the Mohave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is listed as a threatened species in the Arizona Strip District and in the Colorado River District, west of the Colorado River, the requirements of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) invoke policies specific to listed species.  The attached conservation measures may, nonetheless, be useful for those District and Field Offices managing the Mohave desert tortoise.

 

Policy/Action:  This document reiterates BLM policy and intent to conserve the Sonoran desert tortoise and its habitats in Arizona so that its listing as a threatened or endangered species is not warranted, to coordinate BLM conservation efforts with the signatory agency partners to the CCA through the Arizona Interagency Desert Tortoise Team (AIDTT), and to document the implementation of BLM conservation efforts and to share that documentation with AIDTT partners.

 

Field Managers will ensure that the conservation measures contained in the CCA are implemented, documented, and shared (reported) annually with our signatory partners through the AIDTT and keep District Managers informed of implementation progress.  A SharePoint site will be created and all Field Office Wildlife Biologists will be given access to upload documentation of conservation measure implementation.  The Arizona State Office will consolidate uploaded data into one report to the AIDTT.  Documentation of conservation measure implementation can be uploaded at any time, but must be completed for each fiscal year by January 1, annually.

 

The Sonoran desert tortoise and its habitat south and east of the Colorado River will be conserved and managed as described in Manual Section 6840 and consistent with the CCA conservation commitments.  Mitigation for the Sonoran desert tortoise will follow the guidance provided in IM No. AZ-2012-031 (Desert Tortoise Mitigation Policy) or subsequent revised guidance.

 

Timeframe:  This IM is effective immediately.

 

Budget Impact:  None.  The conservation commitments in the CCA are included in, and/or are in conformance with, all RMPs in the State.

 

Background:  In 1988, the strategic plan, Desert Tortoise Habitat Management on Public Lands:  A Rangewide Plan, was signed by the BLM Director.  In 1989, the Mohave population of the desert tortoise (that portion of the known distribution north and west of the Colorado River) was emergency listed as endangered under the ESA.  In 1990, after a review of the conservation status, its status was changed and it was listed as a threatened species.  That same year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a “12-Month Finding” that the Sonoran population of the desert tortoise did not warrant listing at that time.  In October 1990, the BLM Arizona State Director issued the Strategy for Desert Tortoise Habitat Management on Public Lands in Arizona (IM AZ-91-16).  Since that time, the Sonoran desert tortoise has been managed as a BLM-sensitive species, and all RMPs developed have included conservation measures for the Sonoran desert tortoise.  Additionally, numerous policy guidance documents were issued to maintain or improve the conservation status of the species.

 

In 2008, WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project petitioned the USFWS to list the Sonoran population of the desert tortoise as threatened or endangered.  In 2010, the USFWS concluded that listing the Sonoran population of the desert tortoise was warranted, but precluded and it was placed on the list of Candidate Species.  In 2011, the Sonoran population of the desert tortoise was formally described as a distinct species, the Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai).  As a result of a litigation settlement agreement, the USFWS conducted a species status assessment and on October 6, 2015, published a Proposed Rule (Federal Register Vol. 80, No. 193, Pages 60321-60335) which determined that listing the Sonoran desert tortoise as threatened or endangered was not warranted at this time, and the species was removed from the list of Candidate Species.  The determination that listing was “not warranted at this time” was due in part to conservation commitments made by the BLM and other signatory agency partners to the CCA.

 

Directives Affected:  Special Status Species Management, Manual Section 6840.

 

Coordination:  None.

 

Contact:  For additional information concerning this guidance, please contact Tim Hughes, Endangered Species Coordinator, at 602-417-9356, or email thughes@blm.gov.

 

 

2 Attachments:

1 - Final Sonoran Desert Tortoise CCA (133 pp)

2 - SDT Conservation Implementation Reporting (5 pp)