San Francisco Bay Area Network Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Workshop

Denn, Marie

During the week of August 30th 2005 the San Francisco Bay Area Network (SFAN) Inventory and Monitoring Program hosted a 1.5 day workshop to identify and prioritize long-term monitoring questions for amphibians and reptiles on network park lands. Previous network workshops had identified monitoring of these taxa to be the 8th most important priority for the program. The August workshop included biologists from Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GOGA), Pinnacles National Monument (PINN), Point Reyes National Seashore (PORE), Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, SFAN, the National Park Service Pacific West Region, and the United States Geologic Survey Biological Resources Division (see Appendix A for list of participants). The group first reviewed objectives for the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program, and the status of the program within that context. They then outlined known information about amphibian and reptile species within SFAN parks. This discussion focused primarily on herpetofauna at the three largest SFAN parks: GOGA, PINN, and PORE; but also included information about amphibian and reptile species at two smaller SFAN parks: John Muir National Historic Site (JOMU) and Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site (EUON). The group then reviewed and updated the checklist of SFAN amphibian and reptile species (Appendix B). The group discussed the most desired characteristics of a long-term herpetofauna monitoring program for the network. They then formulated a list of the six most important amphibian and reptile monitoring targets for SFAN parks: - Pond-breeding amphibians - San Francisco gartersnake - Stream-inhabiting amphibians and reptiles - Terrestrial amphibians and reptiles - Western pond turtle - Coast horned lizard For each of these six targets the group discussed monitoring questions, focal taxa, monitoring objectives, monitoring techniques, monitoring locations, sampling design, and monitoring regime. The group also discussed considerations common to all six targets such as observer training, photodocumentation, and collection of voucher and tissue specimens. This report documents the workshop participants’ discussions and summarizes their recommendations. The report also provides suggestions to the SFAN board of directors, technical steering committee, and Inventory and Monitoring Program coordinator regarding next steps for completion and implementation of a long-term amphibian and reptile monitoring protocol.