California Department of Fish and Game 20100803 vector digital data https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/BIOS https://filelib.wildlife.ca.gov/Public/BDB/GIS/BIOS/Public_Datasets/600_699/ds673.zip Mitigation Target Areas (MTA) were developed by the California Department of Fish and Game for the Interim Mitigation Strategy (IMS). The MTAs are an identification of generalized target sub-areas for initial priority acquisition under the IMS. The MTAs were developed through collaboration between desert land trust experts, BLM, and CDFG biologists. These sub-areas were known to contain high-quality habitat with parcels that may potentially be available for acquisition under the provisions of SB 34. The selected MTAs are intended only for habitat acquisition under the provisions of SB 34 and do not necessarily correspond with mitigation areas yet to be defined after more detailed analyses under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) Conservation Strategy. However, it is anticipated that the DRECP Conservation Strategy conservation areas will include portions of the areas designated here as IMS MTAs. The MTAs were developed using ArcGIS 9.3. The sub-regions were selected using 25 square mile hexagons (one of the methods used to display composite spatial data by CDFG - e.g., Bird Species of Special Concern data (WFO 2008)). To identify appropriate MTAs within these sub-regions, the areas were further refined using a standardized, sequential comparison with a series of GIS data layers to select the hexagons with the highest conservation value. The process included examination of the following data: Hexagons that intersected at least one of the following GIS layers were retained: 1. Areas of Conservation Emphasis II (ACE II) - The DRECP includes portions of the ACE II ecoregions: Mojave, Sonoran, and Colorado Deserts, Sierra Nevada, and Southern California Mountains and Valleys. Areas with the highest biological value were retained. 2. California Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC). 3. Potentially available lands for conservation - hexagons with unclassified or State-owned lands in BLM's Federal and State Surface Estate layer were retained. 4. Mohave ground squirrel core areas and corridors. 5. Active Bighorn sheep range. 6. California Condor final critical habitat and historic range. 7. Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP) 8. BLM Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), Desert Wildlife Management Areas (DWMA). 9. BLM Wildlife Habitat Management Areas (WHMA): dunes and playas, dry wash woodlands, bighorn sheep, and multiple-species. 10. USFWS Critical Wildlife Habitat: arroyo toad (USFWS 2005), California condor (1974), Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (USFWS 1980), desert tortoise (USFWS 1994), and Penisular big horn sheep (USFWS 2009) 11. TNC Ecologically Essential Habitat - Ecologically Essential and Ecologically Intact areas were retained. 12. Biological input from CDFG and USFWS staff. Hexagons were dropped that overlapped entirely with the following: 13. Fully protected lands (Black and Veatch 2008). 14. Military lands; hexagons were cropped at military land boundaries 15. CDFG owned lands Hexagons were also examined against known proposed renewable energy projects. Depending on the area, hexagons were dropped if they overlapped more than 50% with proposed solar projects, BLM Solar Energy Zones, and proposed wind energy projects. Due to the scale size of the hexagons i.e. 25 square miles, some hexagons were retained even though they had more than a 50% renewable energy project footprint if there were no other options to maintain connectivity or reduce fragmentation for target CESA Listed and Candidate Species. Acquisition immediately adjacent to renewable energy projects may be appropriate in some cases, and will be approved by CDFG on a case-by-case basis. The following layers were examined: 16. Solar Energy Study Areas for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM 2009). 17. Renewable Energy Project Applications in California (BLM 2010). 18. Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) (CEC 2010). 19. Solar Projects (CEC 2010). 20. Wind Projects (CEC 2010). 21. Department of Fish and Game Renewable Energy Project Applications (CCDFG 2010). Within the resulting areas, individual parcels will be evaluated for potential value as mitigation for target CESA Listed and Candidate Species. Acquisition/restoration/enhancement areas will be further refined and prioritized for desert tortoise using the USFWS's desert tortoise spatial decision support system. To display Mitigation Target Areas for the Interim Mitigation Strategy. The following descriptions are keyed to areas identified in the attribute table: Area 1 - Mojave National Preserve. Area 1 is in eastern San Bernardino County between Highway 15 and Highway 40, in and around the Mojave National Preserve. Acquisition in this area would contribute to retaining habitat connectivity within the Preserve. Target mitigation areas include private lands within the Preserve boundaries. The area includes Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active Bighorn Sheep range, BLM Bighorn Sheep Wildlife Habitat Management Areas, TNC Ecologically Essential habitat, and an Essential Connectivity Area (CEHC). Area 2 - Triangle. Area 2 is in central San Bernardino County spanning the area between Highway 15 and Highway 40. The area includes Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, a Proposed Bat Conservation Area, TNC Ecologically Essential and Intact habitat, and Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC). The area also supports rare plants, golden eagle, and burrowing owl. Acquisition in this area would contribute to retaining habitat connectivity north-south along the Cady Mountains, and east-west between Fort Irwin and the Mojave National Preserve and would connect BLM protected areas including Afton Canyon ACEC, Cronese Basin ACEC, Mesquite Hills/ Crucero ACEC, Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard ACEC, Ord-Rodman DWMA, and Superior-Cronese DWMA. Area 3 - Mojave Transition Zone. Area 3 runs along the transition between the Mojave Desert and the San Bernardino Mountains at the southern end of Antelope Valley in northeastern Los Angeles County, and includes a small area in southern Kern County and southwestern San Bernardino County. The area includes active California Condor Final Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, Arroyo Toad Final Critical Habitat, Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC), and important linkages identified by the South Coast Missing Linkages Project. The area also supports desert tortoise, Mohave ground squirrel, golden eagle, Swainson's hawk, rare plants, Joshua tree woodland, and dune systems. Area 4 - Mojave Corridor. Area 4 runs along eastern Riverside County and San Bernardino County and connects with Area 1 in the Mojave National Preserve. The area includes Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC), and TNC Ecologically Essential and Intact habitat. Additional special status species include burrowing owl, American badger, Mojave fringe-toed lizard, and rare plants. Acquisition in this area would contribute to retaining essential habitat connectivity north-south from the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County up through the Old Woman Mountains and Iron Mountain. It would connect BLM protected areas including Bighorn Sheep WHMA, Dunes and Playas WHMA, Multiple Species WHMA, Dry Wash Woodlands WHMA, Alligator Rock ACEC, Amboy Crater ACEC, Chemehuevi DWMA, Chuckwalla DWMA, Corn Springs ACEC, Marble Mountain Fossil Bed ACEC, Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard ACEC, and Pinto Mountains DWMA. Area 5 - North of Joshua Tree. Area 5 runs spans northern Riverside County and southern edge of San Bernardino County along the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Park, connecting with the western edge of Area 4. The area includes Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC), and TNC Ecologically Essential and Intact moderately degraded habitat. Additional special status species include burrowing owl, and American badger. Acquisition in this area would connect BLM protected areas including Bighorn Sheep WHMA, and Pinto Mountains DWMA. Area 6 - Coachella Valley. Area 6 includes portions of the Coachella Valley Multi-Species Conservation Plan area in Central Riverside County and the margins of the Salton Sea. Acquisition in this area would help to maintain habitat connectivity along the east and west sides of the valley. The area includes Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC), Peninsular Bighorn Sheep Final Revised Critical Habitat, Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard Final Critical Habitat, and Arroyo Toad Final Critical Habitat. The area also supports desert pupfish, burrowing owl, American badger, shorebirds and waterfowl, and dune systems. Acquisition in this area would connect BLM protected areas including Bighorn Sheep WHMA, Dry Wash Woodlands WHMA, Big Morongo Canyon ACEC, Chuckwalla DWMA, Dos Palmas ACEC, and Whitewater Canyon ACEC. Area 7 - West Mojave. Area 7 includes portions of eastern Kern County, western San Bernardino County, and northeastern Los Angeles County. The area includes Mohave ground squirrel core habitat and corridors, Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, Essential Connectivity Areas (CEHC), and TNC Ecologically Essential and Intact moderately degraded habitat. The area also supports Tui chub, burrowing owl, shorebirds and waterfowl, Joshua tree woodland, and rare plants. Acquisition in this area would contribute to retaining habitat connectivity for Mohave ground squirrel and would connect BLM protected areas including Black Mountain ACEC, Coolgardie Mesa ACEC, Fossil Falls ACEC, Fremont-Kramer DWMA, Jawbone/Butterbredt ACEC, Kelso Creek Monkeyflower ACEC, Last Chance Canyon ACEC, Rainbow Basin/Owl Canyon ACEC, Rose Spring ACEC, Superior-Cronese DWMA, West Paradise ACEC, and Western Rand Mountain Expansion ACEC. Area 8 - Imperial Valley. Area 8 spans southeastern Riverside County and northeastern Imperial County south of Highway 10 and connects with the southeastern end of Area 4. It includes Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat, active bighorn sheep range, and an Essential Connectivity Area (CEHC). The area also supports Mojave fringe-toed lizard. Acquisition in this area would contribute to retaining habitat connectivity along the east side of the Chocolate Mountains, and would connect BLM protected areas including Dry Wash Woodlands WHMA, Bighorn Sheep WHMA, Chuckwalla DWMA, Corn Springs ACEC. 20100803 publication date Complete As needed -118.855385 -114.691728 36.384056 33.236597 None solar renewable energy Interim Mitigation Strategy Mitigation Target Areas SB 34 ISO 19115 Topic Category environment biota None California None License: This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Using the citation standards recommended for BIOS datasets (https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/BIOS/Citing-BIOS) satisfies the attribution requirements of this license.Disclaimer: The State makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or adequacy of these data and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in these data. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to these data. California Department of Fish and Game Kristina White Research Program Specialist (GIS) kwhite@dfg.ca.gov Version 6.2 (Build 9200) ; Esri ArcGIS 10.6.1.9270 Edited original metadata by adding ISO keywords. 20101015 California Department of Fish and Game Greg Ewing bios@dfg.ca.gov Vector GT-polygon composed of chains 266 NAD 1983 California Teale Albers 34.0 40.5 -120.0 0.0 0.0 -4000000.0 coordinate pair 0.0001 0.0001 meter D North American 1983 GRS 1980 6378137.0 298.257222101 ds673 OBJECTID Internal feature number. Esri Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Feature geometry. ESRI Coordinates defining the features. HEX25_ID Name Shape_Length Length of feature in internal units. Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. Shape_Area Area of feature in internal units squared. Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. 20231201 California Department of Fish and Game Kristina White kwhite@dfg.ca.gov FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998 local time