Common use of BASELINE DETERMINATION Clause in Contracts

BASELINE DETERMINATION. The proposed area covered by this Agreement and its associated 10(a)(1)(A) permit encompasses approximately 24,585 acres of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Creek drainage on the 99 Bar and BarBoot ranches in Cochise County, Arizona. The drainage is bounded on the east by the Chiricahua Mountains; on the west by the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Mountains; the north edge of the drainage is an indistinct valley ridge, and the south edge is bounded by LCNWR. The valley bottom is dominated by rolling hills of desert grassland and the upper slopes of the drainage transition from ▇▇▇▇▇-juniper to oak- dominated woodlands. Land ownership of the area covered by this Agreement is approximately 15% State land and about 85% privately-held by 99 Bar and Bar Boot ranches; a small area (~1%) is Federally- owned (Bureau of Land Management). Federal land is not covered by this Agreement. Ranching activities occur on private land and through grazing leases on State or Federal land. All private land within the covered area, with the exception of small parcels around certain existing buildings, are protected from future development by conservation easements held by the FWS. The covered area is delineated in Figure 1. The 99 Bar Ranch and the Bar Boot Ranch contain very little perennial water and limited riparian hardwood vegetation. Based upon the combination of the limited amount of suitable habitat and surveys conducted by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Canyon NWR personnel for the covered species the baseline for Chiricahua leopard frog, Yaqui topminnow, Yaqui catfish, beautiful shiner, and Huachuca water ▇▇▇▇▇ is set at zero (FWS files). The baseline for Yaqui chub on the 99 Bar Ranch is also zero, but based upon results of surveys conducted in 2007 the baseline condition for Yaqui chub on the Bar Boot Ranch is set at one occupied site. This occupied site is at Lower Chalk Tank. It contains a viable population of Yaqui chub with multiple age classes. Enumeration of the population size is difficult for Yaqui chub and biologically irrelevant based upon the natural fluctuations that occur in ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Creek on the LCNWR. Population size on the LCNWR may vary from 10,000 to 200 individuals within the same year, and is related to the influences of environmental conditions on mortality and reproduction. Therefore, the baseline conditions will be defined as one perennial aquatic site occupied by a viable Yaqui chub population. Population viability will be determined by the presence of a minimum of 200 individuals representing multiple size classes observed in the course of routine monitoring. The occupied site may be assigned to a livestock tank or pond that is equal or larger in size than Lower Chalk Tank and must be in a perennial aquatic site agreed upon at the end of the Agreement by the Permittee and FWS.

BASELINE DETERMINATION. The proposed area covered by this Agreement and its associated 10(a)(1)(A) permit encompasses approximately 24,585 acres of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Creek drainage on the 99 Bar and BarBoot ranches in Cochise County, Arizona. The drainage is bounded on the east by the Chiricahua Mountains; on the west by the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Mountains; the north edge of the drainage is an indistinct valley ridge, and the south edge is bounded by LCNWR. The valley bottom is dominated by rolling hills of desert grassland and the upper slopes of the drainage transition from ▇▇▇▇▇-juniper to oak- dominated woodlands. Land ownership of the area covered by this Agreement is approximately 15% State land and about 85% privately-privately held by 99 Bar and Bar Boot ranches; a small area (~1%) is Federally- federally owned (Bureau of Land Management). Federal land is not covered by this Agreement. Ranching activities occur on private land and through grazing leases on State or Federal land. All private land within the covered area, with the exception of small parcels around certain existing buildings, are protected from future development by conservation easements held by the FWS. The covered area is delineated in Figure 1. The 99 Bar Ranch and the Bar Boot Ranch contain very little perennial water and limited riparian hardwood vegetation. Based upon the combination of the limited amount of suitable habitat and surveys conducted by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Canyon NWR personnel for the covered species species, the baseline for Chiricahua leopard frog, Yaqui topminnow, Yaqui catfish, beautiful shiner, and Huachuca water ▇▇▇▇▇ is set at zero (FWS files). The baseline condition for Yaqui chub on the 99 Bar Ranch is also zero, but based upon results of surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008 the baseline condition for Yaqui chub on the Bar Boot Ranch is set at one occupied site. This occupied site is In 2007 and 2008, Yaqui chub was discovered on the Bar Boot Ranch at Lower the Chalk TankTank Complex. It contains In 2007, a viable population of Yaqui chub with multiple age classesclasses was found in Lower Chalk Tank, but none were found in Upper Chalk Tank. In 2008, multiple age classes were found during monitoring in Upper Chalk Tank, but none were located in Lower Chalk Tank. Since Lower Chalk Tank is formed from the overflow and seepage from Upper Chalk Tank, these two tanks are considered to make up one population site. Enumeration of the population size is difficult for Yaqui chub and biologically irrelevant based upon the natural fluctuations that occur in ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Creek on the LCNWR▇▇▇▇▇▇ Canyon NWR. Population size on the LCNWR may vary from 10,000 to 200 individuals within the same year, and is related to the influences of environmental conditions on mortality and reproduction. Therefore, the baseline conditions will be defined as one perennial aquatic site occupied by a viable Yaqui chub population. Population viability will be determined by the presence of a minimum of 200 individuals representing multiple size classes observed in the course of routine monitoring. The occupied site may be assigned to a livestock tank or pond that is equal to or larger in size than Lower the Chalk Tank Complex and must be in a perennial aquatic site agreed upon at the end of the Agreement by the Permittee and FWS.