Wildlife and Fisheries Management in Great Basin National Park

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The mission of the Nevada Department of Wildlife is to ⿿protect, preserve, manage and restore wildlife and its habitat for its aesthetic, scientific, educational, recreational and economic benefit to citizens of Nevada and the United States⿦⿝ The National Park Service mission is to ⿿preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.⿝ This Agreement is consistent with the missions of both the NDOW and the NPS. The principle purpose of this agreement is to fund the partnership between GRBA and NDOW. This Agreement will: conserve and monitor bat populations; identify critical roosts; install bat gates on cave and mine entrances identified as critical roosts; monitor plant communities and restoration projects; assure healthy, resistant, and resilient park ecosystems; provide educational opportunities for the public; and share and produce scientific information on vegetation and bat management. This Agreement will initially focus on bat conservation and vegetation monitoring but may be expanded through modifications to incorporate other shared projects between the NPS and NDOW such as bighorn sheep management activities, fisheries restoration, aerial seeding, pika translocation, small mammal inventories, shrew genetic testing, and other wildlife conservation issues consistent with the missions of both agencies. Information gained from monitoring habitat restoration projects through this Agreement will directly and beneficially impact wildlife and wildlife habitat. This agreement is consistent with numerous efforts to conserve wildlife, such as NDOW⿿s Wildlife Action Plan (WAP), the Nevada Sage Grouse Conservation Plan, and the Revised Nevada Bat Conservation Plan. The habitat restoration work monitored under this project will improve habitat conditions for bighorn sheep, Bonneville cutthroat trout, mule deer, elk, sage-grouse, and a suite of non-game wildlife species. Habitat restoration and monitoring for the sage-grouse is particularly important given the decision by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision to not list sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Bats are crucial to ecosystem function and provide billions of dollars in ecosystem services annually. Bat monitoring and bat gates will immediately benefit and conserve Nevada⿿s bat populations. The most pressing issue facing North American bats is disease. White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) has devastated bats in the eastern United States, causing the death of up to 6 million bats. Unprecedented levels of bat mortality have led directly to the listing of one species, prevented the delisting of two species, and prompted the petitioning of several other bat species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In addition to disease, bats face several other conservation challenges. Wind energy development, recreational caving, and permanent mine closures also threaten bats in the western United States. Cavers are potential vectors of WNS and can disrupt bat colonies to such a degree that roosts are temporarily or permanently abandoned. Abandoned mine closures present yet another potential impact. Bats colonies are often most heavily concentrated in abandoned mines and use discrete mines to facilitate movement throughout the landscape. As abandoned mines are often dangerous to humans, all western states have enacted aggressive and effective mine reclamation programs. If bats are not considered as part of these mine closure programs, the impacts can be devastating, resulting in entombment or elimination of critical roosting habitat. Alternatively, effective management of caves and mines can both stabilize and conserve bat populations.

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