Management plan for Twisted Oak Moss in Canada [final] 2011: Appendix 2

As provided by the Government of British Columbia

[British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team and Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team. 2010. Management plan for twisted oak moss (Syntrichia laevipila) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 16 pp.

Management Plan for Twisted Oak Moss
(Syntrichia laevipila) in British Columbia

Prepared by the British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team
and Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

July 2010

This series presents the management plans that are prepared as advice to the province of British Columbia. Management Plans are prepared in accordance with the priorities and management actions assigned under the British Columbia Conservation Framework. The Province prepares management plans for species’ that may be at risk of becoming endangered or threatened due to sensitivity to human activities or natural events.

A management plan identifies a set of coordinated conservation activities and land use measures needed to ensure, at a minimum, that target does not become threatened or endangered. A management plan summarizes the best available science based information on biology and threats to inform the development of a management framework. Management plans set goals and objectives, and recommend approaches appropriate for species or ecosystem conservation.

Direction set in the management plan provides valuable information on threats and direction on conservation measures that may be used by individuals, communities, land users, conservationists, academics, and governments interested in species and ecosystem conservation.

To learn more about species at risk recovery planning in British Columbia, please visit the Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning webpage.

To learn more about the British Columbia Conservation Framework, please visit the Ministry of Environment Conservation Framework webpage.

Management Plan for twisted oak moss (Syntrichia laevipila)
in British Columbia

Prepared by the British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team
and Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

July 2010

British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team and Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team. 2010. Management plan for twisted oak moss (Syntrichia laevipila) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 16 pp.

Terry McIntosh (with permission)

Additional copies can be downloaded from the B.C. Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning webpage.

ISBN 978-0-7726-6324-5
Date: July 21, 2010

Acquired:
British Columbia. Ministry of Environment.
Management Plan for twisted oak moss (Syntrichia laevipila)
in British Columbia [electronic resource]

[British Columbia management plan series]

Content (excluding illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source.

This management plan has been prepared by the British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team and the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team, as advice to the responsible jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved in managing the species.

This document identifies the management actions that are deemed necessary, based on the best available information, to prevent twisted oak moss populations in British Columbia from becoming endangered or threatened. Management actions to achieve the goals and objectives identified herein are subject to the priorities and budgetary constraints of participatory agencies and organizations. These goals, objectives, and recovery approaches may be modified in the future to accommodate new objectives and findings.

The responsible jurisdictions and all members of the recovery team have had an opportunity to review this document. However, this document does not necessarily represent the official positions of the agencies or the personal views of all individuals on the recovery team.

Success in the conservation of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that may be involved in implementing the directions set out in this management plan. The Ministry of Environment encourages all British Columbians to participate in the conservation of twisted oak moss.

• Recovery team members
• Author
• Responsible Jurisdictions
• Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
• 1. Species Information
  • 1.1 Species Assessment Information from COSEWIC
  • 1.2 Species Assessment Information: General
  • 1.3 Description of the Species
  • 1.4 Populations and Distribution
  • 1.5 Needs of Twisted Oak Moss
    • 1.5.1 Habitat and biological needs
    • 1.5.2 Limiting factors
  • 1.6 Threats
    • 1.6.1 Threat classification
    • .6.2 Description of the threats
  • 1.7 Actions Already Completed or Underway
  • 1.8 Knowledge Gaps
• 2. Management
  • 2.1 Management Goal
  • 2.2 Rationale for the Management Goal
  • 2.3 Management Objectives
  • 2.4 Recommended Management Actions
  • 2.5 Performance Measures
  • 2.6 Effects on Other Species
  • 2.7 Recommended Approach for Implementation
• 3. References

BC Bryophyte recovery team members
Brenda Costanzo (Chair), Ecosystems Branch, Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC
Terry McIntosh, Ph.D., Botanist, Vancouver, BC
Karen Golinski, Ph.D., Botanist, Nashville, Tennessee
Michael Ryan, Ecologist, Ministry of Forests and Range, Kamloops, BC

Former Recovery Team member
Ted Lea (retired), Ecologist, Victoria, BC

Terry McIntosh, Ph.D.

The British Columbia Ministry of Environment is responsible for producing a management plan for twisted oak moss under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada. Parks Canada Agency and Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service participated in the preparation of this management plan.

Funding was provided by the B.C. Ministry of Environment. Members of the Plants at Risk Recovery Implementation Group of the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT) reviewed this plan, and the following contributed comments: Tracy Cornforth (DND); Carrina Maslovat (Consultant); Shyanne Smith (GOERT program manager).

Twisted oak moss (Syntrichia laevipila) was designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as Special Concern in Canada in May 2004. It was listed on the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) Schedule 1 in 2005. In British Columbia, the twisted oak moss is ranked S2S3 (imperiled to vulnerable) by the Conservation Data Centre and ranked G3G4 (vulnerable to apparently secure) globally by NatureServe. The Conservation Framework has assigned twisted oak moss a conservation priority 2, under Goal 3: maintain the diversity of native species and ecosystems.

Its current Canadian range consists of 27 occurrences in southwestern British Columbia. The twisted oak moss is a small moss that is restricted to the bark of trees, mainly Garry oaks (Quercus garryana); these trees are found in Garry oak ecosystems, which are nationally threatened. Potential threats to the survival of twisted oak moss populations include loss of host trees, direct removal from host trees, lack of recruitment of host trees, and air pollution.

The management goal is to maintain known populations of twisted oak moss in British Columbia.

The management objectives for twisted oak moss are as follows:

1. To initiate habitat protection for existing populations by 2016.
2. To mitigate the threats of direct destruction to the moss and determine if lack of recruitment of host trees is a direct threat to all known populations by 2015.
3. To clarify the distribution of twisted oak moss in British Columbia and to update population and distribution objectives as needed by 2014.
4. To increase public awareness of the existence and conservation value of twisted oak moss by 2016.
5. To address knowledge gaps relating to demographics, effects of competition with other species, microhabitat attributes, and microclimate and habitat conditions for this species by 2016.