Conservation plan includes protections for 78 plant and animal species

By Launce Rake

Sunday, Nov. 27, 2005 | 8:24 a.m.

The Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan includes protections for 78 plants and animals.

They include reptiles and birds, flowers and lichens, mammals and amphibians. They can be found high in the Spring Mountains west of the urban area or in the reedy rivers in the northeast county.

The one common element: All of the species are in danger because of human activity in and encroachment on the region's natural habitats.

County officials who are working on the habitat plan say that the species included are in many cases "umbrella and indicator" plants and animals. That is, when the population of an animal such as the relict leopard frog, an amphibian on the county list, drops dramatically, it means that other species also are likely affected. The change is an indicator that habitat for all sorts of species is in trouble.

Jane Feldman, a Las Vegas activist with the Sierra Club who serves on Clark County's Implementation and Monitoring Committee for the plan, said that when a species becomes extinct, it is almost always because its habitat has been disrupted.

Some alpine, wetland and desert areas in Clark County can be both unique and vulnerable, she said.

The Mount Charleston blue butterfly is one example where human activity, even seemingly innocent activity such as hiking through an alpine meadow, threatens not just the butterfly, but other species as well, Feldman said.

"There's a couple dozen species that occur in Mount Charleston and nowhere else in the world," she said.

The Palmer's chipmunk is among the unique alpine species. "Its habitat is being destroyed by people scrounging for wood," Feldman said.

Following are some representative species on the list of 78 covered by the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan:

* The desert tortoise: The granddaddy of all 78 animals and plants listed by the habitat plan, the desert tortoise is found throughout the Mohave Desert lowlands in Nevada and California. Despite ongoing research efforts, questions remain about the number remaining in the species.

Like all of the species listed in the plan, one of the primary threats to the species comes from habitat loss and fragmentation. Tortoises also are being killed by motor vehicles both on roads and from off-road vehicles, scientists believe.

Conservation efforts include protecting the Mohave desert scrub areas that make up its home, monitoring the species to determine whether populations are recovering and fencing off roads to keep the tortoises from wandering onto roads. Federal, state and local scientists also are developing a program to move remaining populations from high-risk areas.

* Mount Charleston blue butterfly

The Mount Charleston blue, as it is known, is a subspecies of the Shasta blue butterfly and has been found only on the Spring Mountain's Mount Charleston above elevation 6,500 feet. Because its range is so limited, environmental groups are concerned that human activities in just a few meadows could push the insect to extinction.

In October, The Urban Wildlands Group, a California environmental organization, formally petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take emergency steps to protect the butterfly's remaining population. Federal agencies are evaluating the petition.

Threats to the butterfly include loss of habitat by fire or human activity, professional and amateur butterfly collectors, increased use of pesticides and herbicides, wild horses and burros, and off-road vehicles.

* Palmer's chipmunk

Another species from Mount Charleston, the Palmer's chipmunk was identified in 1891 and named after the leader of an expedition to the Spring Mountains, T.S. Palmer. The small mammal eats seeds and woodland vegetation, and depends on fallen trees and rocks and water sources in the forest for habitat.

Threats to the chipmunk are coming from fire and human impacts -- such as recreation and off-road vehicles -- on its woodland habitat. Other problems include people collecting fallen pieces of wood for campfires or decorative purposes and predation by feral animals and uncontrolled pets.

* Las Vegas bearpoppy

This flower, which produces bright yellow blooms in the spring, is "critically endangered," according to the state of Nevada. Although it can be found in Arizona, most of the species is found in Clark County.

Scientists believe the Las Vegas bearpoppy populations are declining across its range as the flower loses its battle with rapid urban development. In 1996, observers found 108 populations, but now believe 12 percent of those populations have been wiped out, with another 16 percent likely to disappear in the near future.

Because the flower has not been successfully propagated or transplanted, protection of the bearpoppy's habitat may be the only way to protect the species.

Developers and environmentalists are still battling over a 13,000-acre swath in North Las Vegas that is home to the bearpoppy and its rare neighbor, the Las Vegas buckwheat. State, federal and local agencies also are working on a conservation agreement that would protect habitat from development.

* White-margined beardtongue

The small, flowering plant, which makes its home on the sand deposited by wind on the sides and lower slopes of dry lake beds, is another Mohave Desert denizen that could be in big trouble because of planned development.

One of the last areas for the plant is in the area targeted by Clark County for the planned Ivanpah Valley airport. Local conservationists are concerned that development of the airport could virtually wipe out the plant's remaining population, which already is affected by human activity such as vehicle races across dry lake beds.

Conservation activities include an environmental study to determine ways to mitigate impacts from the planned airport and potential restrictions on grazing near the dry lake beds the species needs to survive.

* Phainopepla

The striking, crested black phainopepla is found in the lowland areas of Clark County's streams and rivers that support the growth of mesquite, catclaw and ironwood. They feed heavily on the berries produced by mistletoe, juniper and other plants, as well as some insects.

Human destruction of the bird's habitat is the major threat, but the spread of invasive plant species such as salt cedar or tamarisk also is destroying the species. Changes in wetlands because of water diversion and groundwater pumping also are threatening the species.

Conservation activities include the protection and recovery of wetland mesquite forests, population monitoring throughout its range and potential acquisition and protection of habitat in Nye and Lincoln counties to replace habitat lost in Clark County.

* Relict leopard frog

Although there are similar species in other parts of the West, the remaining individuals of this population have been found only at five springs within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

For decades, scientists believed that the species was extinct before it was "rediscovered" in surveys published in 2001.

Government agencies, scientists and conservationists are struggling with a lack of information about the amphibian, which is active at night within the water.

One threat to the frog is from non-native species such as bullfrogs and game fish. Changes in temperature and other factors in its wetland habitat could further threaten it.

The National Park Service is attempting to reintroduce the relict leopard frog into locations that have been part of its historic range.

Launce Rake is a reporter for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4127 or by e-mail at [email protected].