CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
As a member of the IHRMP, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) plays an important role in the programs research, monitoring, and education because CDFG is responsible for the conservation and management of California's fish, wildlife, and plant resources. However, CDFG's ability to play a major role in the IHRMP has been limited by several factors, including lack of funding and limited personnel. The University of California (UC) and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) have received the majority of IHRMP research funds and personnel. In fact, CDFG's Hardwood Program Coordinator, who is the IHRMP representative, is funded from within the Department making it difficult to devote full-time efforts to IHRMP. Therefore, CDFG's IHRMP role is mostly advisory, and CDFG relies on the research and monitoring efforts of UC and CDF for use in much of its hardwood conservation efforts. Despite these limitations, CDFG remains vitally interested and active in conserving California's hardwood resources and in hardwood research, monitoring, and education efforts.
In fact, many of CDFG's ongoing wildlife conservation efforts have directly and indirectly benefited hardwood resources, and many of these efforts are funded from a variety of CDFG funding sources. With the ever-increasing and incessant pressures on California's hardwood habitats and attendant wildlife resources, CDFG's hardwood conservation efforts would greatly benefit from additional funding and personnel dedicated to hardwood issues.
CDFG has one position obligated to hardwood issues located in the Wildlife Management Division (WMD) in CDFG's Sacramento Headquarters. The Hardwood Management Program position was vacant from approximately September 1990 to February 1992, therefore, CDFG did not accomplish much during that period. The position was filled in February 1992 by Mr. Barrett A. Garrison, who works two-thirds of the time with the IHRMP and other hardwood conservation issues. In addition to CDFG's Hardwood Management Program in WMD, important hardwood conservation issues are addressed to a major extent by two other CDFG Divisions: Environmental Services Division (ESD), and Natural Heritage Division (NHD). Considerable hardwood conservation is done by WMD, ESD, and NHD staff in CDFG's five regions. In addition, the California Fish and Game Commission, which sets regulations and policy for CDFG, has developed a Hardwoods Policy for hardwood conservation. The following discussion is divided among the three Divisions.
Wildlife Management Division
Mast Surveys. Since 1976, WMD staff have conducted annual oak mast surveys throughout the State's oak-dominated habitats. A report summarizing mast surveys from 1988 to 1992 was completed in September 1992 by the Hardwood Program Coordinator. Most mast surveys are conducted for blue, valley, and black oaks, and the survey results are correlated with wildlife population estimates for management purposes. WMD has contracted with the Dr. Reginald Barrett, Department of Forestry and Resource Management, U.C. Berkeley, to conduct a study evaluating the relationship between these mast surveys and several wildlife population estimates. This study will be completed in early 1993, and WMD may revise its mast surveys based on the study results.
Deer Herd Maps. Detailed computerized maps for most of California's 80 deer herds were updated in 1992 and can be used with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A large number of these herds migrate through or reside in California's hardwood habitats, and these maps identify key migration corridors and fawning and holding areas. These maps are extremely valuable for evaluating impacts from development projects or developing deer management actions. In addition, the GIS-format of the data allows other agencies and researchers to use the data.
Black Oak Utilization Studies. WMD has been coordinating with private timber companies, CDF, and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in their studies of the commercial utilization of black oak. These studies are evaluating the economic feasibility of increased black oak harvesting. Increased black oak harvesting is thought to offset anticipated reductions in softwood harvesting due to increased environmental protection to protect old-growth associated wildlife species. At this time, several hundred black oak trees have been selectively harvested throughout the state for milling studies. Although this selective harvest appears to have relatively benign environmental impacts, CDFG is very concerned about the possibility of large-scale harvesting of black oak throughout California. Black oak is a key component of many wildlife habitats, particularly mixed-conifer forests, and many wildlife species display considerable dependence on black oak for food and breeding resources.
Interim Wildlife/Hardwood Management Guidelines. In February 1989, CDFG released its interim management guidelines for hardwood habitats. These guidelines were based on available scientific information, not direct experimentation, and they provided recommendation levels for oak retention in areas were cutting is occurring. Because of their interim status, the Guidelines were intended to be evaluated and updated as necessary. In 1992, WMD started several efforts designed to evaluate the Guidelines. WMD has approved funds for a 5-yr study of deer response to black oak harvesting beginning in August 1993. One objective of this study will be to evaluate retention standards for black oak in Montane Hardwood or Montane-Hardwood Conifer habitats of the Sierra Nevada. Additional funds are being solicited for studying the response of wildlife species other than deer.
WMD staff provided considerable input into the planned blue oak thinning project that will be conducted in Monterey and San Luis Obispo county by IHRMP Specialist, Dr. William Tietje. The retention standards for blue oak will be evaluated by this study. In addition, WMD has prepared a detailed questionnaire for evaluating the
Guidelines that will be distributed to hardwood specialists in early 1993.
Wildlife Habitat Relationships (WHR) System. The WHIZ is a computerized database with models of distribution and habitat-relationships for over 640 species of terrestrial and aquatic amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles that is operated and maintained by CDFG. WMD is updating the habitat suitability ratings for wildlife of four hardwood and two mixed-conifer habitats where hardwoods are an important habitat component. These habitats include Blue Oak Woodland, Blue Oak-Foothill Pine, Valley Oak Woodland, Coastal Oak Woodland, Sierran Mixed Conifer, and Klamath Mixed Conifer. These updated models will improve the accuracy of the WHIZ system for hardwood habitats allowing managers and researchers to more accurately predict wildlife species lists for a given area and estimate the effects of land use actions to wildlife.
Economic Value of Hardwoods as Habitat Components for Black-tailed Deer. In cooperation with WMD, Dr. John Loomis, Department of Environmental Sciences, U.C. Davis, assessed the economic value of black oak and Oregon white oak as a component of black-tailed deer habitat. This study estimated that retention of hardwoods from 5-30 ft
2/ acre in conifer-dominated forests had annual economic values ranging from $12.2-$25.7 million from deer hunting in Deer Hunt Zone B-2 in Shasta and Trinity counties. This information will be used by CDFG in recommending increased hardwood retention standards to the USFS and private timber companies.
Black Bear Population Dynamics in Northwestern California. Starting in 1992, WMD's Big Came Program, CDFG Region 1, and USFS began a 10-yr study of black bear population dynamics. The purpose of this study is to determine whether differential mortality occurs with bear populations in wilderness areas where bear hunting rarely occurs and populations outside wilderness areas where hunting regularly occurs. Oak mast data are being collected to correlate with data on bear physical condition and reproduction.
Technical and General Interest Presentations on Hardwood Resources. In 1992, the Hardwood Program Coordinator gave two presentations to workshops focusing on conservation and management of hardwood resources. These presentations were: (1) "Oaks and Their Importance to Wildlife," September, 1992, Care and Management of Oaks and Oak Woodlands, Oroville, CA; and (2) 'Wildlife Management as Part of a Multiple-Use Program," October 1992, Central Coast Woodland Management and Energy Feedstock/Wood Product Development, King City, CA.
Ongoing WMD Activities. In addition to the aforementioned activities, WMD staff worked to conserve hardwood resources during their daily work activities. The Deer Management, Big Game, and Upland Game Management Programs were the most active in hardwood management and conservation efforts because the species they work with, including black-tailed and mule deer, black bear, wild pig, wild turkey, band-tailed pigeon, Swainson's hawk, and mountain quail, are all dependent to varying degrees on oaks and other hardwoods for food, cover, and/or reproduction. In addition, many of these animals, particularly deer and pigs, may have profound effects on the hardwood resource.
The Private Lands Management Program (PLM) is a very important program in hardwood conservation where private landowners enroll in the WMD-administered program. Under PLM, private landowners submit a wildlife management plan where they agree to do habitat conservation and management activities on their lands in exchange for certain CDFG-approved incentives for hunting privileges. Most of the PLM enrollees have lands in hardwood rangelands and Montane Hardwood habitats where hardwood conservation is imperative. Landowners can realize economic returns from their private lands hunting programs that may offset other economic pressures that may lead to overgrazing increased firewood cutting, or residential and commercial development. In 1992, there were a total of 45 PLM enrollees with 545,400 acres in the program (not all these lands are hardwood-dominated habitats).
Environmental Services Division
The Environmental Services Division (ESD) is responsible for finalizing DFG's review and position on land or water projects that may affect fish and wildlife resources. ESD's primary tasks are to coordinate DFG review and response to regulatory agencies on proposed projects, plans and policies that affect these resources and provide technical assistance regarding enforcement of the fish and wildlife protection statutes of State Government, Administrative, Public Resources, Water and Fish and Game codes as well as related provisions in Federal law. As part of their evaluations, ESD staff make mitigation recommendations to avoid, minimize, or compensate adverse environmental impacts. Some of the more important statutes are in laws such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Endangered Species Act (CESA), Fish and Game Code, and Porter-Cologne Act. Many of the projects ESD has reviewed occurred in hardwood habitats, and mitigation recommendations have been made to ensure that the integrity of these habitats remain or are replaced. The following discussion focuses on the Timber Harvest Assessment Program where hardwood resources are particularly important.
Timber Harvest Assessment Program. ESD is the lead Division within CDFG for evaluating effects of timber harvesting on private, State, and Federal lands. Many of these evaluations are coordinated with other CDFG staff from WMD, NHD, and Inland Fisheries Division, particularly when specialized expertise is desired regarding particular species of plants, fish, or wildlife or their habitats. The majority of their evaluations involve Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) on private and State timberlands under the California Forest Practice Act. Most THPs involve commercial softwood species such as coast redwood, Douglas-fir, or ponderosa pine. However, California black oak, Oregon white oak, and tanoak are three important hardwood species that are listed as commercial forest species, and THP's are required when they are harvested. In general, however, most evaluations involve softwoods. ESD staff are concerned about over-harvest of hardwoods and conversion of mixed-conifer forests to monotypic conifer plantations, and their recommendations have led to increased hardwood retention on many THPs in 1992.
Natural Heritage Division
NHD is responsible for five different programs: (1) documenting the distribution and abundance of special status plants, animals, and vegetation communities with the California Natural Diversity Data Base (CNDDB), (2) conservation of rare, threatened, and endangered plants through the Endangered Plant Program; (3) the Lands and Natural Areas Program which coordinates conservation actions for species and natural communities and evaluates proposals to acquire important fish and wildlife habitat; (4) implementation of the various provisions of CESA; and (5) the California Wildlands Program provides public education opportunities on DFG lands. Of all these programs, the CNDDB and Lands and Natural Areas Program have played the largest role in hardwood conservation activities within CDFG. The following discussion is a summary of some of the most significant hardwood activities undertaken by NHD.
Abundance and Distribution of Valley Oak Riparian Habitat. The CNDDB staff began an accelerated effort to document the location and size of all extant valley oak riparian habitat occurrences in California for use in conservation planning purposes. These locations were mapped with a Geographic Information System (GIS) and entered into the CNDDB.
Identification Keys for Vegetation Communities in California. Vegetation ecologists in the NHD program worked with the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) to develop keys for the identification of California vegetation communities. In particular, NHD ecologists worked on the key for woodland types which contain many of the hardwood-dominated habitats. The keys are floristically-based on dominant plant species in an effort to reduce inconsistencies in identification of plant communities. Many of the keys are still in draft form and will be completed soon.
Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP). The NCCP was originally designed for use in conserving rare plant and animals species in coastal sage scrub habitat in coastal southern California. However, the NCCP process could be utilized for hardwood conservation efforts in California. The NCCP process was established with Senate Bill 1248 in early 1991 to allow CDFG to enter into agreements with other public agencies and private interests to prepare and implement conservation plans designed to provide comprehensive conservation and management of multiple wildlife species and the habitats upon which they depend.
NCCP plans are intended to improve upon the single species approach of CESA and the Federal Endangered Species Act because they are habitat-based and focus on multiple species. At this time, enrollment in the program is voluntary and there was a total of 60 enrollees as of July 1992. A scientific committee has been established to develop consistent methods for surveying for rare plants and animals, and the NCCP process is still in the early stages. CDFG and IHRMP will be closely evaluating the NCCP for its applicability to hardwood conservation efforts in California.
Interagency Natural Areas Coordinating Committee (INACC). The INACC is a group of State and Federal agencies working to develop and maintain natural diversity conservation strategies in California using a bioregional approach. Several bioregional working groups have been established, and they have developed maps and reports of significant natural areas which may require conservation efforts. Many significant natural areas identified by the INACC are hardwood habitats, particularly valley oak and Engelmann oak woodlands. These areas can be proposed for acquisition or additional conservation efforts, if necessary.
