| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.14 |
| Liaison | Bremen Leak |
| Submission Date | July 10, 2024 |
Brigham Young University
OP-10: Biodiversity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Bremen
Leak Associate Director Sustainability & Continuity |
Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:
A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:
BYU owns Lytle Ranch Preserve, a 600-acre desert laboratory located at the convergence of the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Mojave Desert bio-geographical regions, located within the Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area and endowed with an unusually rich combination of living communities. The Preserve is dedicated to providing students, scientists, and visitors with an opportunity to experience the flora, fauna, and ecological complexities of this living system. As stated on the Preserve's website, "BYU is committed to the care and preservation of this unique natural resource so that future generations can enjoy and learn firsthand about the biological and historical features of the Lytle Ranch Preserve."
BYU also owns Y Mountain, 160 acres bordering the Unita-Wasatch National Forest on the mountainside east of campus. On the land is a white cement Y built and maintained since 1907. BYU maintains the trailhead and trail leading up to the Y. Members of the BYU chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) regularly plant native species along the trail head and hiking trail, conserving the natural beauty and driving out invasive species. BYU SER restoration work is in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service of USDA, which characterizes the land at the trail head as an Upland Gravell Loam (Bonneville Big Sagebrush) habitat.
Endangered and vulnerable species
A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:
Lytle Ranch commissioned Merril Webb, a birding specialist, to create the Birds of Lytle Ranch Field Checklist, with bird species ordered by level of extinction risk, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Vulnerable Species: Pinyon Jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus Bendire’s Thrasher, Toxostoma bendirei Evening Grosbeak, Hesperiphona vespertina Near Threatened: Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus Olive-sided Flycatcher, Contopus cooperi Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus
- A vascular plant list was compiled by Stanley L. Welsh, BYU Professor of Integrative Biology, who identified 174 unique species found in Beaver Dam Wash in Lytle Ranch, accounting for 5.6% of the indigenous flora of Utah State.
- Desert tortoises are also found at the ranch, and efforts are currently underway to assess their extinction risk.
Many of the plant species located on Y Mountain are unique to the Bonneville Big Sagebrush habitat and are not found in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of its generality, but the BYU chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration hsa recently planted the following species:
- Antelope bitterbrush – Purshia tridentata
- Greenleaf manzanita – Arctostaphylos patula
- Lewis Blue Flax – Linum lewisii
- Sandberg bluegrass – Poa secunda
- Bottlebrush squirreltail – Elymus elymoides
- Bluebunch wheatgrass – Pseudoroegneria spicata
- Mountain brome – Bromus marginatus
- Indian Ricegrass – Oryzopsis hymenoides
- Slender wheatgrass – Elymus trachycaulus
- Scarlet globemallow – Sphaeralcea coccinea
- Silky lupine – Lupinus sericeus
- Curl-leaf mountain mahogany – Cercocarpus ledifolius
- Firecracker penstemon – Penstemon eatonii
- Utah sweetvetch – Hedysarum boreale
- Tapertip hawksbeard – Crepis acuminata
- Arrowleaf balsamroot – Balsamorhiza sagittata
- Fernleaf biscuitroot – Lomatium dissectum
- Rocky Mountain Bee Plant – Cleome serrulata
- Nevada Goldeneye – Heliomeris multiflora
See additional documentation.
Areas of biodiversity importance
A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:
Located near the southern edge of BYU campus, the Bertrand F. Harrison Arboretum, or BYU Arboretum, includes native plants, a spring-fed pond, stream, nature trail, amphitheater, and research plots. Trees in the arboretum, including a giant sequoia from the Sierra Nevada range and a bald cypress from the Gulf Coast, are planted to reflect the geography of the United States, from west to east.
Methodologies
If yes to either of the above, provide the following:
The Birds of Lytle Ranch Field Checklist was compiled by Merrill Webb in 2000 with names and sequences that follow the 42nd Supplement to the 7th AOS (American Ornithological Society) Checklist of North American Birds. Birds are ordered by observance frequency. The birds listed were then ordered by vulnerability according to ICUN Red List. See Excel document attached.
The Vascular Plant List was compiled by Stanley L. Welsh, BYU Professor of Integrative Biology, in 2007. The list is organized alphabetically and contains 174 unique species found in Beaver Dam Wash, accounting for 5.6% of the indigenous flora of Utah State. Due to the unique nature most of the 174 unique species were not found on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of its generality. However, the species on the IUCN list are ordered in the excel document attached.
The BYU SER restoration work and plant choice is in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service of USDA, who characterizes the land at the trail head as an Upland Gravell Loam (Bonneville Big Sagebrush) habitat. The SER chapter chooses species based on Table 8.1 at the optimal pre-settler/disturbance state. Many of the unique species were not found on the IUCN Red List but what was found is ordered by vulnerability in the attached documentation.
A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):
No areas within the 600 acres of Lytle Ranch were excluded. Likewise, no areas within the Y Mountain Trail Head portion of BYU land were excluded.
A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:
At Lytle Ranch, student and faculty research continues, yielding well over 80 publications supporting species, habitat and ecosystem protection and identification since 1992. The following long-term projects are on site: (1) Studying Wildfire Effects in the Mojave Desert, (2) Biocontrol of Invasive Grasses in the Mojave Desert, (3) Water Development and Gambel’s Quail in the Mojave Desert, and (4) Studying Plant-mediated interactions at Lytle Preserve. The preserve is cared for by a full-time on-site manager year-round who is available to greet and orient visitors.
At the Y Mountain Trailhead, the BYU chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration continues to protect and restore the natural habitat and ecosystem under the advisement of Associate Professor Matthew Madison.
At the BYU Arboretum, BYU Grounds is currently preparing to drain, clean, and refill the pond, re-establishing natural fauna.
Optional Fields
Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Additionally in 2024, BYU students and staff had the opportunity to help city officials measure local tree coverage using geospatial analysis—data that would inform Provo City's Conservation and Resiliency Plan. In March, a team from the BYU Library's Geospatial Services and Training Lab presented their findings to city council members: 17.1% of Provo was covered by trees, slightly more than the 15% minimum recommended by urban foresters for desert and semi-arid cities. Empowered by this data, city officials have said that they plan to pursue even higher sustainability targets.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.