Conservation Targets: Defining Biodiversity Conservation Goals

1. Conservation Coaches Network Workshop Presentation 1B. Conservation Targets

2. Adaptive Management Workshop Presentations 1A-1B. Team, Scope, Vision 1B. Conservation Targets 1B. Viability Assessment 2A-1. Strategy Selection 2A-2. Results Chains 2A-3. Goals and Objectives 1C. Threat Rating 1D. Conceptual Models 2B. Monitoring Plan

3. This Presentation Conservation Targets • What are Conservation Targets? • Example Conservation Targets • Common Issues in Target Selection

4. Conceptualize Conservation Targets

5. Define Targets Conservation Targets What biodiversity are we trying to conserve or restore?

6. Define Targets Conservation Targets Conservation Targets: The ecosystems and species that a project has chosen to concentrate on. • Together, all of your conservation targets should represent the entire array of biodiversity at your site. • Their conservation collectively will ensure the conservation of all native species within a functional landscape. • This, however, does not mean to restore or sustain “pristine” conditions in each project’s landscape rather ecologically “functional” ones.

7. Define Targets Conservation Targets Conservation Targets: You won’t have the right strategies unless you have the right targets! • Ecological Systems • Assemblages of communities that occur together on the landscape; linked by environmental processes • Terrestrial, freshwater, marine • Ecological Communities • Globally imperiled vegetation associations or aquatic alliances • Species • Imperiled, endangered, special concern • Assemblages of species with similar conservation requirements • Globally significant aggregations

8. Varied Spatial Scales of Conservation Targets Species Regional Terrestrial Ecological Systems Coarse Aquatic Systems Matrix Intermediate Large Patch Local Medium/Large River Systems & Large Lake Systems Small Patch Stream Systems & Medium Lake Systems Aquatic Macro- habitats Conservation Targets

9. Selecting Focal Conservation Targets Matrix forest 3rd order river system Emergent wetland Conservation Targets • Select 8-12 Focal Targets (fewer are better) • Start with Ecological Systems (which often include “nested” targets) • Then Screen for Species that have Special Conservation Requirements

10. Selecting Focal Conservation Targets Conservation Targets • Group conservation targets related by ecological processes and that co-occur into systems or species assemblages. • Reassess conservation targets at the site and ask if these systems and species are sufficient.

11. Selecting Focal Conservation Targets Conservation Targets • Group conservation targets related by ecological processes and that co-occur into systems or species assemblages. Examples: • Lowland Tropical Rainforest • Coral Reefs • Barrier Island Complex • Mainstem/Tributary Fish Assemblage • Mussel Assemblage

12. Selecting Focal Conservation Targets Selecting Focal Conservation Targets Conservation Targets 2. Reassess conservation targets at the site and ask: • Do any species or communities need specific management • Are any so rare that they need specific attention • Are any dependent on ecological processes (connectivity) • Are any not captured by other conservation targets (anadromous fish) • Do any species utilize multiple systems (large predators, amphibians, bats)

13. Nested Conservation Targets • 6. Whales • 7. Coastal Lagoons • & Freshwater • Wetlands • 8. Pribilof arctic fox • 1. Seabirds • 2. Pinnipeds • 3. Pelagic Fish • 4. Sea Ice • Ecosystem • 5. Sea otter Conservation Targets • A subset of conservation targets assumed to be conserved if the Focal Conservation Target is conserved • Bering Sea Example: • Orca • Gray whale • Beluga whale • Coral & sponge gardens • Juvenile fish & shellfish • Herring • Pribilof rock sandpiper • Pribilof arctic fox • Kittiwakes • Murres • Cormorants • Northern fur seal • Stellar sea lion • Harbor seal • Pacific salmon • Pollock • Spectacled eider • Walrus • Polar bear • Sea otter • Kelp forests

14. Conservation Targets The Big Idea…. When the focal targets are all assembled you have in fact captured all the parts of your ecosystem and the critical processes that drive and sustain it.

15. Lumping or Splitting Targets? Conservation Targets “Lump” conservation targets if they meet all of the following tests: • Co-occur on the landscape • Require similar ecological processes • Have similar viability • Have similar threats Therefore may require similar conservation strategies Examples • Fish & mussel assemblages • Grasslands & grassland nesting birds • Mixed conifer-hardwood forest & embedded plant community

16. Selecting Targets Conservation Targets Your conservation targets may evolve.

17. Map Your Targets Coastal Dunes Brackish Marsh Freshwater Marsh Riverine System Matrix Forest Tiger Beetle Conservation Targets Connecticut River Tidelands Project Defining the targets and the project area is an iterative process.

18. This Presentation Conservation Targets • What are Conservation Targets? • Example Conservation Targets • Common Issues in Target Selection

19. Our Example – Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands Conservation Targets Adapted from WWF Australia’s WeltlandsWatch Project

20. Swan Coastal Plain Conservation Targets Conservation Targets • Seasonally flooded wetlands • Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands • Fringing shrublands • Permanent lakes • Blue-billed ducks

21. Initial Map of Swan Coastal Plain Project and a Target Conservation Targets Even a simple sketch made with Google Maps helps… Permanent Lakes

22. Targets in Miradi Conservation Targets

23. Targets in Miradi Conservation Targets

24. Neversink Basin Conservation Targets 2001 -- Communities and Ecological Systems -- Species Terrestrial Freshwater Delaware Basin Diadromous fish Regional Chestnut oak/conifer upland ecological system (dry) - (Shawangunk) Mixed hardwood upland system (moist) - (Catskill) Coarse Inter- mediate Freshwater mussel assemblage Low gradient groundwater influenced riverine and bottomland swamp ecological system (Bashakill) Low alkaline headwater riverine and riparian ecological system (Upper Neversink & tributaries) Critical Insects Local

25. This Presentation Conservation Targets • What are Conservation Targets? • Example Conservation Targets • Common Issues in Target Selection

26. Common Issues & Recommendations Conservation Targets Issue: Large project area or too many targets • Try defining a large project using just the major system types • Consider a separate process for rare, fine scale components • Start with large number of targets - then look for shared threats where an over-arching strategy could benefit the system • Identify a wide-ranging species or species guild that uses a broad range of habitats across the area

27. Common Issues & Recommendations Conservation Targets Issue: Project area is only part of the range of a wide-ranging species • Simply recognize that only part of the species’ range (e.g., winter vs. summer range) will be protected – but be clear about what important functions occur in the project area OR • Consider working with other teams in other areas to meet the full needs of the wide ranging species

28. Common Issues & Recommendations Conservation Targets Issue: Non-biological targets (e.g. groundwater, open space, pollination, archeological sites, etc.)? ALWAYS Up to the team whether to include diverse target types… • Important to be clear about the scope of the project • Create a shared vision statement • Important to be clear about the relationship between the targets • Note that some strategies may actually conflict Conservation Target Conservation Targets Ecosystem Services Human Welfare Targets NOTE: This is addressed much more thoroughly later, in the Situation Analysis PPT. Culture Empowerment Water Provision Education Wealth Nutrient Cycling Health NTFPs Conservation Target

29. Common Issues & Recommendations Conservation Targets Issue: the targets are no longer present at the site or are barely present • Advice: can be targets for restoration

30. Common Issues & Recommendations Conservation Targets Issue: How to incorporate ecological processes (fire, hydrology, water quality, etc.) and connectivity • Advice: ecological processes and connectivity are “key ecological attributes” of the conservation targets • We will address this in the next step, so hold those thoughts!

31. Key Points Conservation Targets • Targets are of Critical Importance • What is the appropriate scale – Spatial? Biological? • Coarse-filter vs. fine-filter • Target Setting is an iterative Process • Project “boundary” is ideally based on targets