Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring and Analysis: Final Project Report

Vegetation Monitoring and Analysis at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NRA) was funded by the Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan, Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, and Lake Mead NRA base-funds. This Cooperative Task Agreement was awarded to the Public Lands Institute (PLI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on September 30, 2006 with the term ending December 31, 2009, as modified. The primary purpose of this Task Agreement was to work within an interagency framework towards the accomplishment of three main vegetation management objectives. These three goals were to: (1) inventory, research and monitor rare plant species of interest to the interagency partnerships focused on the Lake Mead NRA region; (2) provide monitoring, research and initial treatments of priority invasive weeds within Lake Mead NRA and on public lands in Clark County, Nevada through an interagency weed management program; and (3) provide technical assistance and support in monitoring and research related to land disturbance and ecological restoration monitoring. In addition, the task agreement deliverables were greatly exceeded by conducting supplemental monitoring and research activities that supported the broad goals of the Task Agreement. This “value added” monitoring and research included activities such as initiating scientific literature reviews (one of which, a practical review of Mojave Desert revegetation techniques, was jointly published with the NRA vegetation manager); retrospectively assessing a past NRA restoration project along a pipeline in Boulder Basin (which also was jointly published with the NRA vegetation manager) surveys to enhance rare plant monitoring and management in Clark County; a major vegetation change assessment comparing vegetation in 1979 to 2007-08 in the Newberry Mountains, conducting a major project invertebrate assessment identified as a priority by the NRA vegetation manager; implementing a federal highways project (e.g., site planning, restoration plantings) also identified as a priority by NRA managers; and assessing the feasibility of determining reference conditions for ecological restoration. All of these “value-added” activities went above and beyond the deliverables required by this Task Agreement. As presented at the December 8, 2008, CESU meeting in Reno, Nevada, this task agreement is viewed as one of the most productive and cost efficient (based on products/dollars) Agreements in the country. This Task Agreement will continue to produce products as manuscripts from this work are published in scientific journals