Landscape Conservation Cooperatives

The Right Science in the Right Places

21st century resource threats magnified by accelerating climate change demand increased science capacity.

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Landscape Conservation CooperativesWhy?

Landscape Conservation CooperativesWhat are they?

Applied conservation science partnerships. Partners include federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, Tribes, NGOs, and universities within a geographically defined area.

Fundamental units of planning and adaptive science to target the right science in the right places.

A national and international network of conservation organizations and agencies supporting natural systems capable of sustaining abundant, diverse and healthy populations of fish, wildlife and plants.

Help partners identify common goals and priorities.

Support biological planning, conservation design and adaptive management.

Provide a strong link between science and conservation delivery on the ground.

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of scientific information and conservation actions.

Landscape Conservation CooperativesWhat do they do?

By functioning as a network of interdependent units, LCC partnerships can enable a level of conservation no single agency or organization can accomplish alone.

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives The Power of Partnerships

Brian Jonkers/USFWS

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Wood Thrush Habitat& Conservation LandsForest Conservation

Priority Areas

Landscape Conservation CooperativesCommon core structure and function

Key components: A steering committee of

partners LCC Coordinator(s) Planning and technical staff GIS capability and other

expertise

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives:

Conservation in Action

Across the country, LCC partnerships are already identifying priority species and habitats and launching projects that will inform conservation decisions and actions on the ground.

Timothy Knepp

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Geographic Areas

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Established in FY2010

Arctic California Great Northern Great Plains Gulf Coastal

Plains & Ozarks North Atlantic Pacific Islands Plains and Prairie

Potholes South Atlantic

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Projects in Progress

4 Projects$ 370,000

3 Projects$ 920,000

5 Projects$ 815,000

4 Projects$ 180,000

3 Projects$ 475,000

11 Projects$1,268,000

Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Project Snapshot:Identifying Shared Conservation Priorities

The Nation’s Largest Floodplain: 27 million acre Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks LCC

Changes in Climatic Habitat by 2100

A1B Scenario

Lama, Lama, Diospyros sandwicensisDiospyros sandwicensis

New habitat

Habitat retained

Habitat lost

Pacific Islands CCC Project Snapshot:

Projections of Changes in Hawaiian Plant Distribution

Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC Project Snapshot:Regional Assessment of Fish Habitat Condition

• Develop a geodatabase of fish habitat conditions across the PPP LCC. • Assess current species distribution and abundance.

• Project future species distribution and abundance in relation to climate change.

Broad-based partnership to sustain waterbirds during winter and migration in the eastern U.S.

Coordinated across multiple landscape scales to inform decision makers.

Enables us to assess waterbird population responses to climate change and other factors and identify adaptation and mitigation strategies to sustain waterbird populations.

Integrated Waterbird Management and Monitoring Program

South Atlantic LCC Project Snapshot:

Assess the current capability of habitats in the NALCC to support sustainable wildlife populations

Predict the impacts of landscape-level changes (climate change, urban growth) on the future capability of these habitats

Target conservation programs and evaluate alternatives for sustaining wildlife

North Atlantic LCC Project Snapshot: Designing Sustainable Landscapes

Habitat Maps& Models

LandscapeChange Models

Decision Support Tools

Glacial Streams

Arctic LCC Project Snapshot: Linking North Slope Climate, Hydrology and Fish Migration

Partners:

Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

UAF Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory

UAF Water and Environment Research Center

USFWS Fisheries and Ecological Services

USFWS Arctic NWR

USGS

Habitat availability for trust resources

How will our trust resources respond to a changing arctic?

Non-glacial streams

Lakes and ponds

Thank you and time for questions