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Strategic Site Selection at the Landscape Level . Michael McCollum, McCollum Associates and Deborah Mead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Session Overview. USFWS Strategy and Available Tools NMFS Strategy and Available Tools Practical Approach Examples
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Strategic Site Selectionat theLandscape Level Michael McCollum, McCollum Associates and Deborah Mead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Session Overview USFWS Strategy and Available Tools NMFS Strategy and Available Tools Practical Approach Examples Discussion – Other Plans and Planning Tools Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Strategic Habitat Conservation SHC is the USFWS framework for landscape conservation; encourages a comprehensive view Adaptive resource management framework for making management decisions about where and how to deliver conservation efficiently to achieve specific biological outcomes Encompasses all USFWS programs and addresses both habitat and non-habitat factors limiting species populations Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Biological Planning Assumption-based Research Outcome-based Monitoring Conservation Design Strategic Habitat Conservation Evaluation Planning Conservation Delivery Implementation Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Climate Change – DOI Secretarial Order No. 3289 Issued September 14, 2009, includes the following: “A network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives will engage DOI and federal agencies, states, tribal and local governments and the public to craft practical, landscape-level strategies for managing climate change impacts…” Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Landscape Conservation CooperativesThe Right Science – in the Right Places LCCs are management-science partnerships that inform integrated resource management actions addressing climate change and other stressors within and across landscapes. LCCs are geographically based cooperatives in which DOI bureaus will work with other agencies and outside partners to expand the understanding of climate change and how it is interfacing with other forces to alter natural and cultural resources and to facilitate strategic responses. Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
SHC and LCCs Conservation Banking Training Course * July 19-23, 2010
Consideration of Climate Change • Considering climate change in conservation planning and management at a landscape scale is crucial for effective site-scale conservation • Need to apply the best available scientific information and tools to address: • Spatial and temporal variability • Complexity (e.g., multiple stressors) • Uncertainty Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Climate Change Considerations Global Climate Change Impacts in the US (Karl et al 2009) Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Climate Change Considerations Global Climate Change Impacts in the US (Karl et al 2009 Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Example: San Joaquin Kit Fox Conservation Banking Training Course * July 19-23, 2010
Landscape Conservation Cooperatives • Why this approach? • 21st Century challenges demand new capacities to better understand what is happening and likely to happen across large scales • No single agency has the capacity to do this alone; interdependence is more crucial than ever • LCCs will inform resource management decisions to address landscape-scale stressors including habitat fragmentation, genetic isolation, spread of invasive species, water scarcity—all of which are magnified by accelerating climate change • LCC resources and products will be shared Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
How many LCCs, where, and when? • How many? 21 • Boundaries based on combination of Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) and watersheds • Where? • Proposed for the entire U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico • When? • Now! 9 in Fiscal Year 2010; others to follow in Fiscal Year 2011+ Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Conservation Banking Training Course * July 19-23, 2010
LCCs Link to Climate Service Centers • LCCs link to USGS Climate Service Centers (CSCs) • 8 CSCs to include Alaska, Hawaii and the Caribbean • FY2010 in AK, NW, and the SE • FY2011 in SW and North Central regions • CSCs will deliver basic climate change impact science products that LCCs and others can all use, including multi-scale modeling and ecological forecasting. • Downscaled climate models and derivative products • Land use change scenarios • Watershed modeling • Sea-level rise visualization tool + science to support tool • Habitat and occupancy models for fish and wildlife Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
LCCs Links to State Wildlife Action Plans Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) Guidance on Incorporating Climate Change into State Wildlife Action Plans LCCs offer opportunity for states and partners to develop regional adaptation strategies that can be included in state plans Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Strategic Conservation Planning and Conservation Banking • Look at existing plans first: • State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) • Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) • Green Infrastructure Plans • Recovery Plans • Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs) • Add to this list. . . • Use the LCCs (expertise, science products, etc.) • Then ask, “where and how can conservation banking and other market-based programs contribute to these conservation strategies?” Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
The Big Picture A landowner says he wants you to approve a conservation bank on his land. Does it make sense? Will it help achieve your agency’s mission, or detract from it? Where do you start? First, recognize that a conservation bank is simply a financial tool to conserve privately held habitat that will add value to a larger habitat conservation plan. Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
With that in mind, take a look at what is happening on the land now, and what is planned in the area for the future. Before looking at a potential bank property, develop a list of questions to consider when analyzing the viability of a bank. Every property is different, so use these questions as a guideline, not a make or break analysis. Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Check the Checklist Is the proposed parcel big enough to function as habitat on its own, even if nothing further is conserved? If not, is the property adjacent to existing preserved habitat? If not, and alternative properties are rare, will it support the target species as part of an archipelago of preserved land? Are existing and future uses of surrounding land compatible with a bank? Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Can the property be adequately managed? Are there opportunities to partner with other public agencies to assemble a larger parcel? Does the proposed service area make sense? Does the bank have, or does it expect to have, habitat that will be needed as mitigation habitat within the likely service area? This last question is interesting. Who should make decisions such as this? Should the regulator be concerned about the bank’s financial viability, or just the landowner? What other issues are only the landowner’s prerogative, and what are, legitimately, the government’s? Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
The Nitty-Gritty Work with the local land use agencies to help determine where you want banks to develop. The best scenario is working in an area that is part of a regional planning effort. The following slides are an example of formal landscape level planning, but many points can be applied in the context of informal planning. Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
North San Diego County MSCP Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-19, 2011
North San Diego County Multiple Species Habitat Plan Whelan Ranch Conservation Bank Cities of: Oceanside Carlsbad Vista San Marcos Encinitas Solana Beach Escondido Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-19, 2011
Whelan Ranch Conservation Bank Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Core Areas & Linkages Carlsbad Highlands Conservation Bank Carlsbad Oaks Conservation Bank North County Habitat Bank Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Carlsbad Oaks – Carlsbad Highlands Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Carlsbad Highlands Conservation Bank Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Austin Creek Conservation Bank NMFS Coho Salmon and Central California Coast Steelhead Fish Bank Austin Creek State Recreation Area Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011
Example of a Potential Salmon Creek(Before Restoration) Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-19, 2011
Pools Are Established (After Restoration) Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-19, 2011
Bank Service Area Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-19, 2011
Conservation banks present opportunities to be partners with landowners. The more they realize a profit, the better you can achieve your mission. Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011