Review of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan Report 1 (2015) / Chapter Skim
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6 Overarching Issues
6 Overarching Issues
Pages 161-171
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From page 161... ...
listed species, from data management and analysis to scenario planning. BENEFITS OF INTEGRATION The present suite of data collection activities and analyses found in the HCP combines monitoring, modeling, and various individual experiments and field studies into a larger overall science program.
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From page 162... ...
provides critical information for modeling and ecosystem assessment, the lack of a formal commitment means that research priorities may not be directed toward key questions in the HCP, especially if budgets become limited. For example, while there are plans to investigate the connection between the Comal and San Marcos pools under different hydrologic stresses, the priority of this research in the hydrogeologic science program is not clear.
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From page 163... ...
should be integrated with and cross-referenced to the more focused conceptual models on key species population dynamics. Such a set of conceptual models would be particularly valuable to understanding the multiple drivers of fountain darter population dynamics, including spring flow, climate variability, land use change, water quality, predation, and habitat.
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From page 164... ...
Such a plan would ensure both internal and external access to relevant data over both the short and long term, facilitate data analyses and syntheses across multiple data types and sources, buffer against the potential turnover of key personnel, and increase transparency and communication across stakeholders as the HCP is implemented and evaluated. In short, a well-planned and implemented information management system will make all aspects of the HCP more likely to succeed.
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From page 165... ...
There is significant opportunity for exploring the key field data sets and model results, both ecological and hydrological, with more advanced statistical methods than simple summary statistics and graphical plotting. Some of the recent final reports from the Applied Research Program used standard statistical methods as part of their analyses, and this should be the continued expectation for all HCP research.
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From page 166... ...
Statistically based habitat suitability functions would then be compared to expert opinion functions to assess similarities and differences, and both could be used in analyses to bound predictions of habitat changes in response to spring flows. The biomonitoring field data will be increasingly used for examining temporal trends in the indicator species and their correlation to environmental variables such as flow.
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From page 167... ...
. If landowners are increasingly using this legal exemption, their cumulative pumping could undermine the HCP's minimum flow requirements, especially during drought years, regardless of how well the Permittees implement the HCP's measures.
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From page 168... ...
Have the HCP Permittees considered the risks to the system, to the ESA-listed species, and to implementation of the Plan itself from a "perfect storm" of bad timing of these key events? For example, what happens if low-flow conditions occur immediately after the October triggering date for water conservation measures and last well into the next year?
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From page 169... ...
Scenario #6: Subjugation to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge ESA Issues The Edwards Aquifer is directly connected to the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers, which in turn flow to San Antonio Bay and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which in turn provides habitat to the ESA-listed whooping crane. According to the HCP, the whooping crane was not included for coverage in the Edwards Aquifer HCP because it is believed that: (1)
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From page 170... ...
Moreover, the plaintiffs in that case considered whether they should include the EAA and other upstream water users in the litigation. Although the plaintiffs ultimately decided not to seek defendants so far upstream, the decision nevertheless suggests that the Edwards Aquifer could become tied to a much larger ESA recovery process and plan like the one that has enveloped the Snake River in Idaho (NOAA Fisheries, 2014)
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From page 171... ...
National Park Service Climate Change Response Program. Fort Collins, CO.
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