Habitat Patch Establishment Sample Clauses

Habitat Patch Establishment. Creation 12

Habitat Patch Establishment. CREATION Enrollees will create, maintain, and reseed as necessary, patches of host plant habitat for island marble butterfly adults to lay their eggs and for caterpillars to feed, mature, form a chrysalis (pupa), and emerge as adults. In the upland environment of the CCAA Emphasis Areas, research suggests that preferred island marble butterfly habitat is spring-blooming field mustard plants growing a density of less than 0.093 plants per square foot (1 plant per square meter) (Xxxxxxx 2011, 2014, in Xxxxxxx 2016, page 15). Habitat will be created on enrolled properties in ‘strips’, ‘blocks’, or other configurations. Habitat strips that are configured to the width of equipment may be easier to maintain long term. Strips of habitat will not need to be continuous. If adjacent strips will be refreshed (see Section 5.2.3) in different years, those strips should be spaced at least 10 feet apart to reduce the possibility of a caterpillar crawling from one row to the next. The size of the habitat, excluding buffer, is as follows:  Less than ¼ acre of enrolled lands, then approximately 36 square feet of habitat.  Greater than ¼ acre up to 1 acre of enrolled lands, then approximately 100 square feet of habitat.  Greater than 1 acre of enrolled lands, then at least 50 square feet of habitat per acre. The WDFW or the USFWS will assist landowners or their designees during the enrollment process in determining their habitat creation requirements and options for patch configurations. The following is a brief summary of the general steps enrollees may consider in the design of their habitat patch(es).