CONSERVATION GUIDELINES. This section presents a generalized discussion on conservation topics relevant to the conservation of the three fish species. Intended as a guide for development of state conservation plans, it does not specifically outline minimum requirements for development of such plans. Rather, the signatories recognize that the priority of issues discussed in this section may vary widely from state to state and that the feasibility of resolving management implications discussed herein is situation- and species-specific. Furthermore, it is likely that conservation issues discussed in these sections will frequently be interrelated. For example, genetic concerns will likely be addressed in concert with metapopulation, population viability, and nonnative fish issues. Likewise, nonnative fish control issues may impact habitat management, and in some instances, hybridization issues (e.g., occurrence of white sucker in the upper CRB), and so on. It is therefore desirable that state managers identify interrelationships between conservation issues and formulate their state plans accordingly. Habitat Maintenance and Protection Habitat is an important component of metapopulation and species survival. Loss of available habitat may lead to the loss of individuals or populations that in turn may cause loss of metapopulation dynamics. Important physical habitat characteristics may include (but are not limited to) substrate, instream habitat complexity, and flow regimes. Chemical characteristics may include (but are not limited to) instream pH, temperature, specific conductance, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, major ions (e.g., carbonate), nutrients, and trace elements. If needed, the signatories will develop habitat improvement actions to support individual populations and metapopulation dynamics. Rigorous standards for habitat protection can be incorporated into state fishery and land use plans. Current guidelines exist for many agencies that can be incorporated into these efforts, including (but not limited to) Best Management Practices or other state water quality standards, Forest Service Plan Standards and Guidelines, National Park Service Natural Resources Management Guidelines, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Properly Functioning Condition (PFC) protocols, and recommendations from related broad-scale assessments. One of the most dramatic anthropogenic changes imposed on the CRB and Bonneville basins is alteration of natural flow regimes. Instream flow and habitat-related...
CONSERVATION GUIDELINES. The Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, Recalling the Final Act of the negotiation meeting to adopt the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, held in the Hague, in June 1995, inviting the interim secretariat to prepare conservation guidelines in order to assist the Parties in their implementation of the Agreement Action Plan, Recalling Article IV paragraph 4 of the Agreement on the submission of conservation guidelines to the first session of the Meeting of the Parties and the need for regular review thereafter, Recognizing the wide range of different conservation structures and national legislative frameworks currently occurring within the Agreement area, and through which the same conservation objectives can be achieved by different mechanisms, Aware of the results of the informal discussions on the draft of the conservation guidelines at the Second International Conference on Wetlands and Development held in Dakar, in November 1998, Convinced of the necessity that all Parties and Range States of the Agreement shall implement the Agreement in a similar and coherent way, Noting that these conservation guidelines provide a common framework for action but have no legally binding effect,
CONSERVATION GUIDELINES. The Chair of the Technical Committee will present three draft revised AEWA Conservation Guidelines (Doc. AEWA/MOP 5.33, AEWA/MOP 5.34 and AEWA/MOP 5.35) and one of the compilers will present the newly drafted Conservation Guidelines on the Translocation of Waterbirds for Conservation Purposes: Complementing the IUCN Guidelines (Doc. AEWA/MOP 5.36). The Secretariat will introduce draft resolution AEWA/MOP5 DR10 and the Meeting will be invited to consider and adopt the resolution and the revised and new guidelines (see also Doc. AEWA/MOP Inf. 5.3), including the guidelines on avoiding/mitigating the impact of power lines on migratory birds (Doc. AEWA/MOP 5.37) to be presented under agenda item 24.
CONSERVATION GUIDELINES. Range-wide conservation efforts for BCT are based on sound principles of conservation biology (Xxxxx and Xxxxxx 1980). Generally, important factors for the long-term conservation of species include conservation genetics, meta-population dynamics, and habitat restoration and preservation. Furthermore, loss of one species from a community can precipitate extinction of coexisting species if they are strongly interdependent (Xxxxxxxx 1976, Xxxxxxx 1980). A sound conservation management approach will not only support the persistence of BCT, but will also promote ecosystem health. Conservation Genetics Proper management of any species recognizes the existence of different levels of genetic diversity that exist both within and among populations. Among population variation is the result of geographical isolation and selection and/or drift. Populations become more divergent the longer they have been isolated and/or the more variation there is in the habitat of the populations (Toline and Xxxxxxx 1999). Among population variation provides the basis for the establishment of Geographical Management Units (GMU), which are defined not only by genetic (nuclear and mitochondrial DNA) variation, but also by factors including geography, life history, meristic and morphological traits, and molecular data. For management purposes, five GMUs have been established across the historic range of BCT (Range-wide CA/CS). Of these, all BCT populations in Nevada are located within the West Desert GMU. To preserve among population variation and prevent the risk of outbreeding depression and resulting loss of fitness, individuals from different GMUs should not be mixed. Maintenance of within population variation is important as well. Levels of genetic variation within populations are indicative of current and historical reductions in genetic effective population size (Ne) and can often be suggestive of the likelihood of inbreeding. Preservation of genetic variation within populations is critical to prevent inbreeding depression and resulting loss of fitness as well. Historical stocking of nonnative salmonids (e.g. rainbow trout) over many native populations of cutthroat trout has lead to hybridization and is likely responsible for the loss of some populations. Identification of BCT conservation populations must therefore include an assessment of their genetic purity. Identification of conservation populations in Nevada will include both an assessment of the genetic purity of the populat...
