Responding to the needs of natural resource managers through The NatureMapping Program

1. Responding to the needs of natural resource managers through The NatureMapping Program Karen M. Dvornich Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Co-founder & National Director for The NatureMapping Program

2. Mission Statement… The goal of The NatureMapping Program is to facilitate the exchange of information on biodiversity between natural resource agencies, academia, land-use planners, local communities, and schools through public education and participation in data collection and analyses.

3. The Evolution of NatureMapping • 1992 – Washington Gap Analysis Project asked Audubon members and retired natural resource professionals, to groundtruth and collect wildlife and habitat data • 2001 – Over 200,000 records (419 wildlife species) submitted for Washington State; partners provide skill training & materials; regional training centers developed; research training workshops developed; 13 states interest/fund-raising; state program growth patterns emerge • 2002 & beyond - NM statewide databases for researchers, agencies and the general public; integrated research, community, and school projects; non-profit “NatureMapping Applications” • Education is still the major focus • 1993 – The NatureMapping Program was created to involve schools and the public to collect wildlife & habitat data. Education about Gap, data collection protocols & material development was the main focus.

4. Disseminating Gap data to the “public” includes: • Natural resource agencies - workshops how to understand the process and use of data • Legislators – how Gap datasets can be used for statewide biodiversity planning • County planners and local jurisdictions – how Gap datasets can be refined for use in countywide biodiversity planning • Schools – how student data can populate predicted range distribution maps; query species predicted in their watershed, etc.

5. Education precedes dissemination ... if you want Gap data used • What is Gap Analysis? • What are Gap’s goals? • What is GIS? • What do these GIS datasets mean? • How can I use Gap datasets for my project? • How do I use GIS? The education process takes a long time

6. Arkansas –Univ. of Arkansas Extension, Game & Fish Commission California – Fresno State Univ, Fresno City, CA F&W Hawaii – USGS BRD-Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center Indiana – USFWS Kentucky – Jefferson County Public Schools Massachusetts – Boston Museum of Science & Technology Missouri – Missouri Botanical Gardens New York – NYCFWU, Cornell Extension Ohio – USFS Oregon – Portland State University Pennsylvania – Philadelphia Zoo South Carolina – South Carolina Native Plant Society South Dakota – SDCFWU Vermont – Vermont Institute of Natural Science British Columbia – Turtle Island Land Trust

7. Research Needs of Natural Resource Agencies • Research Projects: • Adopt-a-Farmer • Update WAGAP Short-horned lizard model • Food preference; abundance; habitat use • Project CAT (Cougars and Teaching) • Cougar/prey movements, survival, proximity to people • Mule Deer Project • Nutrition study on does and fawns • Vegetation analysis of congregation sites • Coyote and cougar predation • Pierce County Biodiversity Planning • Biodiversity Network monitoring Linked with communities, schools, and life-long learners

8. Adopt-a-farmer Project! Graphing data on paper graphs

9. Farmers and students checking and recording data on charts, topographic maps, and computers

10. Data Input Using Arcview

11. Students create maps for their farmers

12. lizards

13. Future Plans On-site management of web site In-district sustainability for the project Increase farmer numbers Continue to develop student and teacher ability to use GIS software Radio tracking Create more farmer polygons Conduct queries radio

14. Introduction slide

15. Project Mission Project Mission: To create a proactive educational program for students and communities that promotes living with cougars through experiential curriculum, scientific exploration and community empowerment.

16. Key Project Elements Incorporates • Education • Research • Technology • Nature • Community Empowerment • Inspiration

17. Beneficial Outcomes Beneficial Outcomes • Experiential Learning Curriculums • New Technologies • Appreciation for Science • Increased Human Safety • Greater Sense of Community • Balance Between Humans and Cougars

18. Collaborators • Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife • Cle Elum/Roslyn Schools • University of Washington • The NatureMapping Program • Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit • Communications Department • Biology Department • Woodland Park Zoo • Central Washington University • Center for Spatial Information • Wilderness Awareness School • The Cle Elum and Neighboring Communities

19. Washington State Fish and Wildlife ungulate biologist asked NatureMapping students to collect data…

20. …by sampling identified mule deer usage areas… …for nutritional analysis in helping to determine the health of deer populations.

21. Identifying usage areas required… capturing… …‘marking’ with a radio collar… …and radio tracking movements.

22. Field Training to provide for consistent data collection… …scat identification and collection…

23. Students visit 1-5 acre site within 10 days after receiving GIS maps identifying where mule deer are congregating with the knowledge of ‘where’ and ‘what’ to sample.

24. As NatureMappers, students design their own research questions that complement the main research question. Students collect ‘real’ data using the same protocols used by professional researchers.

25. Students inventory the entire area using CyberTrackertm data collection software technology integrated with a GPS unit to put their research data into a spatial context.

26. The NatureMapping Program’s “sequence”…a series of icons to collect consistent field data. A sequence with each state’s fish and wildlife species and habitats will be developed.

27. Biodiversity Planning in Pierce County, WA Sponsored by: Pierce County Planning & Land Services Metro Parks Tacoma Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife UW, Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit

28. Simply put.... Biodiversity is the variety of life that we depend on Karen Dvornich The NatureMapping Program (1998) The inclusion of the Project is an attempt to incorporate these admittedly unsupported and potentially dangerous intellectual theories and comments that evaluate (the previous definition). The foregoing definition provided in the Biodiversity Plan exemplifies the vagueness of the information included in the document. Biodiversity is the variety of life and its processes. It includes the variety of living organisms, the genetic differences among them, the communities and ecosystems in which they occur, and the ecological and evolutionary process that keep them functioning, yet ever changing and adapting. Reed F. Noss and Allen Y. Cooperrider Saving Nature’s Legacy (1994)

29. Overview of the Washington Gap Analysis Project Great blue heron – Breeding Bird Atlas observed blocks (1987-1996) Great blue heron predicted breeding range distribution • The Washington State GAP Analysis Project (WAGAP) was established in 1991. The WAGAP process utilized satellite imagery to identify large-scale ecoregions and vegetation zones augmenting this with field inventory data for all the taxonomic groups of terrestrial vertebrates to create predicted distributions.

30. Application of GAP at the County Level • Analyzed County’s policies and regulations for capacity to protect habitat for terrestrial vertebrates and salmonids • Recommended enhancements for policies and regulations to improve habitat protection within the County • Enabled the integration of biodiversity habitat mapping into the County’s GIS system WAGAP updated its maps using recent satellite imagery, aerial photographs, other spatial datasets to identify blocks of habitat predicted to support a wide variety of vertebrate species based on speciesrichness and speciesrepresentation

31. Funding Requests Estimated Cost: $150,000 ($100,000 In-kind) Education and Public Involvement (~ 5 years) • Objectives: • Empower citizen scientists through the use of NatureMapping • Educate local jurisdictions, universities, and the public on biodiversity planning • Personnel and Equipment: • Coordinators, software, workshop facilities, media • Potential Contributors (in-kind): • Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife • The NatureMapping Program, University of Washington • Metro Parks Tacoma • Pierce County

32. Funding Requests Estimated Cost: $ 400,000 ($______ In-kind) Monitoring (lab & field exercise ~ 3 years) • Objectives: • Collect data from citizen scientists using NatureMapping • Provide a level of quality assurance through the use of experts • Establish new surveys and monitoring programs where necessary • Personnel and Equipment: • Coordinator, data handler, GIS technician, field technician, data sets, software, hardware, REI kits, per diem, staff services, media • Potential Contributors (funding & in-kind): • Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife • The NatureMapping Program, University of Washington • Local NGO’s (Tahoma Audubon, Native Plant Society) • Metro Parks Tacoma • Tribes • Pierce County • Federal Agencies (USFWS, Ft. Lewis, McChord, Mt. Rainier) • Private Organizations

33. Permanent Protection of BMA NetworkLand Acquisition and Conservation Actions Pierce County Conservation Futures Program Mitigation Sites Land Trust Acquisitions Land Acquisition and Conservation Actions Local Jurisdictions and Park District Open Space Acquisitions Conservation Easements Pierce County Floodplain Buyout Program Core Area Designation