Conservation Activities. Check all conservation practices implemented on the property during the year being reported, and indicate location of all activities on a map to be included with the annual report. Check method(s) of thinning:
Conservation Activities. Landowners will work collaboratively with EDF to implement conservation activities to improve the quality of Houston toad habitat on enrolled properties. The goals of the conservation activities are (1) to create or enhance Houston toad breeding, occupied, and dispersal habitat and/or (2) allow for the reintroduction of a sustainable Houston toad population through reintroduction or expansion from adjacent properties. Specific details and guidance on how to minimize impacts to the Houston toad while conducting conservation activities included in this Agreement are provided in Attachment B “Conservation Activity Guidelines.” All conservation activities will follow the guidelines outlined in Attachment B unless otherwise approved by the Service in writing prior to implementation. Implementation of this Agreement will follow an adaptive management approach. Therefore, if the methods for carrying out the following conservation activities, as listed in Attachment B or elsewhere in this document, do not meet the overall goal of improving the Houston toad’s status, they will be modified accordingly pursuant to section 10.A, “Modification of the Agreement” of this document. The conservation activity guidelines set forth in Attachment B may be modified as new information on Houston toad management becomes available through a minor amendment to the Permit as long as the modifications do not result in an increase of incidental take beyond what was authorized in the original Permit. Specific conservation measures may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Brush management to create desired understory conditions and facilitate restoration of native ground cover Forest thinning is the practice of removing undesirable vegetation (this may include select trees or understory vegetation) from a forested area. The suppression of wildfires has led to a dramatic increase in the understory density within the range of the Houston toad. The positive correlation between insect and plant community diversity on the forest floor is commonly recognized, as explained and demonstrated by Xxxxxxx et al. (1998). Thus, a reduction in vegetation community diversity on the forest floor may account for a decline in insect diversity and abundance. Since insects comprise the Houston toad’s food source, plant community diversity can affect the availability of food for the Houston toad. Thinning is expected to increase light availability and penetration, which may increase ...
Conservation Activities. The Covered Parties all have ongoing Conservation Activities which include water quality monitoring, biological monitoring, riparian and instream data collection, and other activities which are designed to monitor the health of the ecosystem. These activities are an integral part of protecting the environment and provide information to federal, state, and local conservation managers. Although research activities may have short-term impacts, these efforts will continue and are designed to benefit the Covered Species in the long-term. When coupled with the additional conservation planned as part of this agreement, these combined efforts are expected to provide a net conservation benefit over the life of this CCAA that far exceeds any short-term impacts. Scientific research and methods that directly affect the Covered Species will be coordinated with the USFWS and TPWD.
